Averto Vicis
by Lady Smoothie
Summary: AU, HBP Compatible: When Hermione dies in battle moments after her powers are awakened, Dumbledore utilizes a centuries old spell to send Harry back in time to his six year old self. By Aerin. [UPDATED AND ALIVE!][NEW CHAPTER: HALLOW'S EVE]
1. Prologue: Turn Back Time

**Averto Vicis**

**Prologue: Turn Back Time**

_--"Mad? He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" Percy, PS/SS_

"Harry… I know this is difficult, but I need you to listen to me."

The Boy Who Lived turned to glare at Albus Dumbledore, but it was weak, with no real fuel behind it. He turned back to the window he had been looking out of, his arms crossed, and leaned his face against the pane, his eyes softening and a few tears dripping down his cheeks unnoticed. "She's gone," he said, his voice flat. "I'm not sure if you can understand, Dumbledore- she's gone, and she's never coming back."

Albus sighed- it was time. "I know, Harry, which is why I have called you in here today." He paused. "There is a spell, Harry- a spell more ancient than Merlin himself. Long before the Dark Ages, years before Merlin's birth, there existed a wizard- a wizard by the name of Eramus Slytherin. This wizard- he drabbled in the Dark Arts, yet used his powers for light. Eramus developed a spell, Harry- a spell that can only be used once by a single person on a single subject, both of which must have abnormally high power counts. This spell was called Averto Vicis- roughly, Turn Back Time."

Harry kept his back to Dumbledore, though his curiosity was piqued. "And what does this spell do? More importantly, how does this relate to me?"

Dumbledore smiled. "That, my boy, is where it gets interesting. This spell does, literally, turn back time for the subject. The subject can be sent back to a most of thirteen years- it truly is a magical number, you know. The subject is returned to their body at that point in time, so it is not advisable to use if you are under thirteen, as you would be returned to nothingness until you are born. This spell is considered unlawful by the Ministry, as it enables people to mess with time, but there is no possible way to track its use, and only I and a select few others are capable of using it."

"Who are the others?"

The Headmaster of Hogwarts sighed heavily. "Well, Voldemort for one. There are also two others- one of which is dead, and one of which is alive. Do you know of the rankings of magic, Harry?"

At this off-topic question, Harry was startled into answering "Not really, sir."

"This is pertinent to this, Harry, I assure you. The first rank, of course, is Muggle- those with no magical talent. Next are Squibs, who can see magic, sense magic, and use magical items, but not magic themselves. Then comes witches and wizards- power, but not enough of it that they do not need to use an outside magical core to focus it. Then come Sorcerers and Sorceress'- about a fourth more power than the average witch or wizard. High Sorcerers and Sorceress'- half more power. And Mages- twice as much power."

"You're a Mage then."

"Yes; so is Tom. So are a few others. But the other two I told you of- the one that is alive and the one who is dead- they are even more powerful. They are what are known as Arch Mages, and they are the first two since the four founders."

Harry raised an eyebrow, though he knew Dumbledore couldn't see his face. "I presume that they are extremely powerful then?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes- about four times as much power as a normal wizard. Mages and Arch Mages are the only ones with enough power to even attempt to cast Averto Vicis, let alone have it cast upon them. It takes up so much magical energy to be sent through time that it would take even an Arch Mage at least eight years to regain all of their magical stores."

"And what, exactly, is the point in telling me all this?"

Albus sank down into the chair behind his desk with a sigh. "Harry, you must understand something- I had to wait for you to come into your powers before even considerign this. You came into your powers today- or yesterday by now. Harry, you are one of the Arch Mages of which I speak."

Harry's eyes widened, but he just growled. "I should have known. It's always me, isn't it?"

Dumbledore chuckled sadly. "It does seem that way, doesn't it?" He sighed again. "But you see, Harry, there was another Arch Mage. Her powers unlocked yesterday as well, but she was murdered before she could utilize them. You remember the Prophecy?"

"Of course," Harry said dully. "How could I forget?"

"Another was made."

Harry whirled. "What?"

"I could not share it with you yet, for you were not ready. You did not understand yourself yet. Now you do- now I can tell you. I do not know the exact wording, as I was not present when it was read, but the basis of it is that the other Arch Mage _must _be there for you to defeat Riddle. It is the only way."

"So we're screwed."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Not exactly, Harry. Why do you think I told you of the Averto Vicis spell?"

Harry's eyes widened. "You want me to go back… I can save Sirius… I can _save her_…"

"Yes, Harry. In fact, saving her is the whole reason for going back, although I certaintly wouldn't begrudge you your godfather."

Harry had a distant look on his face. "You said this was about saving the other Arch Mage- it is her, then?"

The Headmaster nodded gravely. "Yes, Harry, it is Miss Granger. I need you to seriously consider doing this, Harry. Your magical reserves will be extremely low when you first arrive, and if something goes wrong, you will have to wait for Miss Granger to come into her powers before you can be sent back again- and unless you can find another Mage, you will never be able to go back again, as I highly doubt Voldemort will be willing to send you back. Do you accept this?"

Harry was still in shock- even while Dumbledore had been telling him about the spell, he had been too much in grief to realize what it could mean. "I could never befriend _Ron_-" the name was spat out like a curse, "To make sure he never betrayed us… he still might, but I would know to expect it… I could watch him…"

Dumbledore nodded grimly. "Yes, you could. So, Harry, I ask you again- do you accept this?"

Harry looked up, his green eyes swirling with emotion. "Yes," he said quietly, "I do. I never- never got the chance to tell her-" Here his voice choked up and he shook his head before continuing. "I can't live without her. I need to do this, Professor."

The other man nodded slowly. "I understand, Harry. Now, you have a choice. You can go back up until thirteen years ago- the less you go back, the more your magical reserves will remain intact- but, of course, the less you can change."

The Boy Who Lived smiled tightly. "I'll go back all thirteen- I don't want Sirius spending a minute more in that hell than is necessary. My stores will refill themselves eventually- but a minute that he loses in that place can never be returned."

"Alright. Are you ready?"

Harry started. "What- now?"

"There is no point in goodbyes, as you will see them all when you arrive. You might as well leave now."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "Very well, Headmaster. I'll see you on the other side."

Albus smiled. "Good luck Harry. Averto Vicis!"

And Harry's world dissolved into blackness…

**A/N: **Well, how was it? Please review and tell me!

**Disclaimer for this story: **The words written here are my own, but any characters or situations you recognize arise from J.K. Rowling, who assuredly owns them.

--Aerin


	2. Chapter One: I Smell A Rat

**Chapter One: I Smell A Rat**

_--"Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…" Sirius, POA_

When Harry next woke up it was to a rapping on a door. "Boy! Boy, get up and make breakfast! Now!"

His heart in his throat, Harry opened his eyes. "Damn," he muttered. He had forgotten that he had still had glasses when he was six. He rummaged across the shelf on his left until he found the frames and put them on.

His suddenly clear vision revealed that he was in a small cupboard- a cupboard he would recognize anywhere. A wide grin on his face, he called through the door "I'm coming Aunt Petunia!" before swinging his feet of the bed, opening the door, and hurrying to the kitchen to take over the job of frying the bacon.

'Man,' he thought to himself, 'The stovetop really was hard to reach back… then? Now?' Time travel was more confusing than he had thought.

But now what? He had to think of some sort of way to a) get to the Weasley's, restrain himself from killing Ron, and get Pettigrew, b) somehow show Pettigrew to Lupin, and c) free Sirius and somehow refrain from bawling all over him. Although, seeing as he was six and what the Dursley's were like, the bawling might not be thought to be _that _weird…

Wait. That was it. What the Dursley's were like. That was his closest kept secret- the fact that he had often been abused during his childhood. Since he had been nineteen when the spell was performed, he knew how to Apparate- he could mark it off as accidental magic, trying to get somewhere safe. After he was at the Weasley's, he could pick up Pettigrew… and then he could pretend that the rat had bitten him, whether he actually did or not, and Apparate to Lupin's after 'feeling threatened'… that just might work.

Now all he had to do was get Vernon to beat him up.

He wasn't exactly relishing the idea, but it was easier than it sounded. All he really needed to do was some 'accidental magic', and voila, he was a bloody pulp. The thing to worry about was the timing. Mr. Weasley was at work from 9am to 5pm, but it might be just as well not to have him there, as Molly was less likely to ask questions… Bill would be a Sixth Year this year, so they would be gone whenever he arrived… he would work out the kinks in his plan tonight, and tomorrow his plan to prove the innocence of his godfather would be set into motion.

-----

He stared at a crack in the stone on the wall, thinking. He always thought now. There was nothing else to do but remember. And when he remembered, all it would be was his mother hitting him, finding Lily and James, watching Hagrid fly off with Harry, facing Peter in the street, being dragged off to here, this place, this hell on earth…

None of the good memories were there any more. All he could remember about any of his friends were their arguments… And all he could remember about his godson was that time he had bit him and seeing him fly off with Hagrid…

He wanted out. He wanted out, to kill Peter most of all. He wanted to be free.

He wanted to fly…

-----

Hermione Granger stared out her window. She was currently curled up on her window seat, which was a wide wooden board padded and apholstered with a beautiful black fabric patterened with stars. She loved the stars- she had a telescope in her room, which was painted in a pattern similar to the window seat with glow in the dark planets and moons on the ceiling.

Staring at all of the children playing a game of hockey in the street, she sighed and wondered what it would be like to join them. Not that she ever would- not only was hockey dangerous, she had never been very good at sports- perhaps because she had never had a reason to try very hard. No, she definitely preferred 'Ramona the Pest' to tackle football.

With another mournful sigh, she walked to her bookshelf and pulled off her batttered copy of 'The Wind in the Willows', returning to the window seat and settling down to read. She had barely started when there was a rapping at the door. "Come in," she called, looking up from page eighteen.

Her mother poked her head into the door. "Darling, your father and I have to go to a very important conferece in San Diego- it just came up. We're very sorry, but Mrs. Wilson will have to stay with you."

She forced a smile and nodded. "Of course, mom, I understand. I'll see you in…"

"A week, sweetheart. Well, I had better go pack, the plane leaves in an hour…" She walked out of the room, muttering something about needing more beige stockings.

That was the downside of having parents who were dentists. While they got to live in a big, wonderful house that Hermione loved, they often had to leave for conferences. She didn't understand why they felt they had to go- they were already the only dentists in this area, and besides, she knew for a fact that many dentists only went to conferences and conventions when they had to. Her parents weren't like that.

She could count the number of times they had been home for a full three months on one hand- one month on two. Oftentimes it was just her and Mrs. Wilson, their elderly neighbor, in the house. She had gotten used to it by now.

Biting her lip she turned her eyes back to her book, barely noticing the tears that fell on the page, and wishing for a friend, one true friend who would stick by her in everything. Little did she know that at Number Four, Privet Drive, a fellow six-year old was wishing to be that one true friend, and would do anything for her.

-----

The next day, Harry was ready. With luck, he would never have to experience what he had christened the Fifth Year Beating. He shuddered at the memory. Vernon had been more than a little pissed off at being bossed around by three "freaks".

With a large gulp, Harry stepped out of his cupboard and towards the kitchen for another morning's breakfast.

It happened at noon. Vernon had told Dudley to get the mail, and Dudley had said to make Harry do it… it was oddly similar to right before his First Year, but then again that happened almost every morning in the Dursley household.

Harry forced himself to flush a bright red. "Why do I always have to get the mail!" he yelled, basing his tantrum off of Dudley's everyday life. "Why doesn't Dudley ever get it!" With that, he wandlessly caused all of the glasses in the room to explode.

A frightened look came upon his face that was only slightly faked at the fury of his uncle. Besides that, the display had taken up more of his reserves than he would have liked. Hopefully he would have enough to complete his plan.

Vernon towered over him as he shrunk into a corner and he saw Petunia and Dudley leave the room out of the corner of his eye. "I- I didn't mean to Uncle Vernon," he said, his voice shaking. If he were still 'himself' this bull of a man wouldn't stand a chance against him, but as he wasn't, he felt a very real fear clench his heart, only slightly soothed by the fact that he oculd Apparate to the Weasleys' as soon as it got bad.

Vernon glared at him. His face was purple, and a vein in his forehead was throbbing. "No- freakishness- around- this- family," he hissed out. And then it started.

By the time Harry decided to abandon ship, he had a broken left arm, a black eye, broken glasses in a heap on the floor, and various other bruises and breaks, two of which he reckoned were his ribs. And then, with a sound like the sigh of the wind through the trees, he was gone.

He reappeared in the Weasley's living room, where, convieniently, Mrs. Weasley was reading them a story. She immediately stood with a gasp and rushed over to him. "How did you get here," she asked kindly, "Can you tell me your name?"

Hrry shivered. He hated using his status as an abused child to provoke sympathy, but if it got Sirius free, so be it. "I- I wanted to be somewhere safe," he whispered. "and then I was. My- my uncle said- he said not to talk to stragers, or he'd use his belt again…" He shuddered.

Mrs. Weasley raised her hand to her mouth. "Your uncle did this?"

Harry's eyes went wide. "No! No, he said… he said not to… not to tell…"

He then caught sight of Percy, who was standing behind his mother, 'Scabbers' in his hands. The rat was struggling, and in a moment had broken free of the elder boy's grasp. Harry mentally smirked. 'Perfect.'

With well-honed Quidditch reflexes he reached out and grabbed the rat, which, to his luck, promptly bit him on the finger. He cried out and was gone once more, leaving several confused Weasleys behind.

When he next appeared it was in Remus Lupin's house. The man had shown it to him once, said that his parents had left it to him but that ever since rejoining the Order he hardly stayed there anymore. He only hoped…

Yes. Perfect. He had appeared in the dining room, and his thunk of bumping a chair had caused Remus to hurry out of the kitchen, his wand drawn. Harry, pretending not to see him, shook the hand with Peter attached. Peter, being the idiot bastard he was, kept his jaws locked tightly around Harry's small finger as the boy cried out in pain.

He saw Lupin's eyes widen, and Wormtail passed out with a shout of "Stupefy!", falling from Harry's hand to the floor in an ungraceful heap.

Harry squinted at Lupin. "What was that?" he asked innocently.

Moony frowned, and then relaxed. "Muggleborn," he muttered. He then crouched in front of Harry. "That was magic, young one. Do you have a name?" He noticed Harry's injuried and gasped. "What-"

Harry shrunk back. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

Remus smiled, though his eyes were worried. "It's okay- I promise I won't hurt you." When Harry still hesitated, he said "My name's Remus Lupin. See, now I'm not a stranger any more!"

Harry forced himself to relax slightly but still look nervous. "Okay," he whispered. "My- my name-" Lupin nodded encouragingly, and Harry spoke again. "My name is Harry Potter."

What he hadn't expected was Lupin promptly passing out.

"Well, shit."

-----

The last thing Albus Dumbledore had expected that day was a fire call from Remus Lupin. "Mr. Lupin," he said pleasantly, standing and walking over to kneel in front of the fire. "To what do I owe this pleasant surprise?"

"I need Poppy Pomfrey, a team of Auror's, and Fudge down here now," he said, his face serious and his voice tight.

Dumbledore frowned. "What happened, Remus?"

Remus sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not entirely sure, Dumbledore, but I'll tell you this- it's to do with Black and Pettigrew. I'll see you in a few minutes."

With another pop, he was gone, leaving Dumbledore to stare at the fire in confusion before grabbing a handful of Floo powder to contact the Minister of Magic.

-----

A few moments later, everyone arrived. "Care to tell us what this is all about, Lupin?" Fudge asked with a scowl. Remus had first met him when he had stopped a Werewolf Relief campaign that Remus had been running… tey weren't exactly the best of friends.

Remus sneered at him. "Just a moment, _Minister_." He then turned to Madame Pomfrey.

"He's in here," he said softly, and showed her to his room, where Harry was laying on the bed. Pomfrey covered her mouth.

"What happpened?" she asked quietly.

"From what I can gather," Remus said sourly, "It was his uncle. The man's name is Vernon Dursley."

"You mean- this is Harry Potter?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes, this is Harry Potter." He walked over to the bed and leaned over Harry. "Harry?" he said softly. "This is Madame Pomfrey. She's going to make you feel better. I need to go out there and talk to some people about that rat, alright?"

Harry nodded sleepily. "Alright, Mr. Lupin," he whispered. Remus smiled, touseled his hair, and stepped back outside, shutting the door behind him.

"Remus," Dumbledore said calmly. "You said this had something to do with Black and Peter?" Remus nodded.

"I suppose I should start at that beginning. I'm sure everyone here knows I'm a werewolf- well, my three friends became unregistered Animagi, against my wishes I might add, in order to help me with the transformations. They were James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew."

"So you admit that all three of them broke the law, and those living must be fined 1,000 galleons?" Fudge asked.

"Yes, Minister, I am aware of this. It was important to what I need to tell you, though. James- James became a stag. Sirius was a large black dog. And Peter Pettigrew became a rat."

With that, Remus, pulled out the Unbreakable Jar he had put the rat in. "When my guest-" he nodded to the room "-accidently Apparated in here, it was due to a moment of panic because this rat was biting his finger. When I saw the rat, I noticed the similarities to Peter's Animagus form, and immediately Stunned it. I would respectfully request that we test to see if this rat is indeed Peter Pettigrew, and administer Veritaserum if it is."

Fudge laughed. "Why not, Lupin. I might as well support your crazy fantasies for now. Sure, we'll do that."

Remus looked more serious than he had been seen in a long time. "Do you swear a Wizard's Oath?"

Fudge sighed. "Sure, I do. You realize there's no point in this? Black is as Dark as his name." He chuckled at his own joke, though no one else did. He hurriedly stopped and coughed. "Alright, then. I solemnly swear on the graves of my brother and Merlin that I will see if this rat is Petger Pettigrew, and interrogate him if he is. Now, bind the rat to the chair." After Remus did so, Fudge said, "Kingsley, perform the spell."

The tall black man pointed his wand at the rat. "Revealus!"

And all hell broke loose.

There was a flash of blue-white light, and the rat turned into a human- a fat, balding human, but recognisable nonetheless as Peter Pettigrew.

"Impossible!' Fudge shouteed, turning red. "It's not possible! This is- this is some imposter! I'm leaving." He tried to turn and leave, but found that he couldn't.

"I have your Wizard's Oath," Remus said callmly, though inside he was shaking at seeing his thought-dead former friend. "The magic will not allow you to leave until after you fulfill your Oath."

Fudge moved to refuse, but before he could Kingsley stepped forward and forced some Veritaserum down Pettigrew's throat before rejoining the Aurors. Remus smiled.

"Fine," Fudge hissed after a moment. "Revive him."

"Enervate."

The watery blue eyes opened, glazed over from the effects of the potion. A stenographer hurriedly took out a pad of paper and a Cartographer's Quill and sat, awaiting the questioning.

"What is your name?"

"Peter Phillip Pettigrew." Mutterings began as the monotone voice spoke, and Dumbledore's usually prominent twinkle was absent.

"What happened on the night of All Hallows Eve, 1981?"

"I betrayed the Potter's to Voldemort. My Master left to destroy them."

"You are a Death Eater?"

"Yes."

"How did you know where the Potter's were?"

"I was their Secret Keeper."

Remus stepped back as though struck. 'They didn't tell me,' echoed dazedly in his head. 'I didn't know…'

Fudge bit his lip. "Black was not the Secret Keeper?"

"He was to begin with, but we switched. They said that Voledmort would not suspect it. They did not know that I was loyal to him."

"What happened the morning of November 1st, 1981, on Saint Christopher St. in Longfellow?"

"Black cornered me. Said he would get his revenge for Lily and James. I thought on my feet, and shouted that he was the one who had done it. I blew up the street with a wand behind my back and cut off my finger before changing into a rat in hiding in the sewer."

Remus didn't notice the tears dripping down his face. He was to busy thinking of what a fool he had been. Sirius and James were as close as brothers, as had he been with them. Sirius would never had betrayed them. He should have known. But he had been to blinded by the evidence to see the truth.

"So Sirius Black is innocent of all charges?"

"Yes."

Dumbledore had never looked older. "Minister Fudge, I request the pardoning of Sirus Black now that new testimony has come to light."

Fudge was grey. Remus could almost see the wheels turning- the man wasn't about to risk his career. "Very well. We'll bring him in for a trial tomorrow so we can get his side of things, and if it tallies up with Pettigrew's we'll free him. Pettigrew will be held in the Ministry for now."

Dumbledore nodded. "I could not ask you of more, Minister."

And as the Minister of Magic left at almost the exact same time Pomfrey left the back room, all the adults were unaware of one six year old's satisfied smirk from the bed he was lying on, his green eyes glowing eerily in the darkness.

**AN: **And this, my friends, is the first real chapter. Many thanks to Lionheart for all the advice.

--Aerin


	3. Chapter Two: Shadow of a Doubt

**Chapter Two: Shadow of a Doubt**

_--"When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James Then, before I could curse him, he blew up the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within within twenty feet of himself-- and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..." Sirius, PoA_

There seemed to be nothing special about the morning of October 17th, 1987- it was a rainy day, cloudy, the kind of day that would find most people inside depressed. But Harry Potter was not most people.

For one thing, he had always loved the rain, ever since an old lady had told him once, when he had been outside in a thunderstorm, that the rain were the tears that the people in Heaven shed for those they had left behind. He had always loved the idea, though he was loath to admit it, that his parents cared for him enough to maybe, just maybe, cry for him, and that the raindrops falling on his shaggy head of hair might be those tears.

But there was another important thing about this day, two days after he had been subjected to the Averto Vicis spell. On this day, the Wizarding World was in an uproar, for this day was the trial of Sirius Black.

When the news had first appeared in the Daily Prophet that morning, many had promtly fainted, and many more had stared in shock and disbelief at what surely had to be a joke on the cover of the newspaper. **Sirius Black Recieves Trial! Peter Pettigrew Found Alive! **Needless to say, everyone who had been able to come was crowded into the small courtroom, and many more were sitting on the ground or waiting outside in the hallways of the Ministry of Magic.

Hary Potter and Remus Lupin were two of such people. They had been two of the first into the courtroom, and as a result had very good seats, quite close to the Minister and the Wizengamot. They had a great view of everything that would happen… and that would be qiute a lot.

There were two chairs in the middle of the room- wooden ones. Harry recognized them from Dumbledore's pensieve and his own trial experience as those which bound whoeveer sat iin them. He felt a cold fury enter his blood, after all, no innocent man deserves to be bound… but there was nothing he could do about it, other than watch the trial and wonder when the hell it would be over.

And then the doors to the holding cells opened, and Harry forgot all about the chair in order to restrain himself from setting the Minister ablaze.

Sirius looked awful, though not quite as bad as when he had escaped- it looked as though he had been given the chance to freshen up a bit, and his hair was cut neatly, though the goatee stayed. He had new black robes on, and overall looked better than he had in Third Year.

Except when you looked at his eyes. His face may not have been as sunken as it had been the last time around, but his eyes were just as haunted as they had been back then. In pictures he had seen, Sirius' eyes had always been a bright grey, sparkling with laughter and mischief and love. Azkaban had changed that. The grey of his eyes was dull, faded, and full of pain and misery and longing. Harry knew that look- he had held it often enough himself.

Sirius was roughly pushed into one of the chairs, looking rather confused, and the ropes bound him. That was when Harry realized that Sirius had absolutely no idea what was going on. His heart went out to the man- dragged into a courtroom seven years after he had been unjustly convicted with no idea of why. The Auror forced some Vertiaserum down Sirius' throat, and as his eyes went glassy, the trial began.

"You are gathered here to witness the trial of one Sirius Orion Black, convicted of thirteen counts of murder, one count of being an illegal Animagus, and one count of being a Death Eater. New testimony has come to light to suggest his innocene. Please bring in Peter Pettigrew."

The rat was dragged in, struggling, and put in the second chair. He was given Veritaserum as well, and with a heavy sigh Fudge started the questioning.

"What are your names?"

"Sirius Orion Black."

"Peter Phillip Pettigrew."

Whispers began, but Fudge ignored them. "Mr. Johnsen was our cartographer the day we found Mr. Pettigrew. We gave him Veritaserum on that occasion. My. Johnsen, would you kindly read the accused's statements?"

The man did so, and there was an uproaor. It took nearly ten minutes of Fudge shouting to get everyone to quiet down.

"Mr. Black, did you hear Mr. Pettigrew's testimony?"

"Yes."

"Is it valid?" There was a collective drawing in of breaths.

"Yes."

"And you are, therefore, innocent on all counts?"

"No. I am an unregistered Animagus."

"But you are innocent on the rest."

"Yes."

Fudge sighed. "Aurors, release them from the potion."

A few wand waves, and it was done. Harry watched as Sirius turned to look at Pettigrew with betrayed eyes. "I trusted you once," he whispered.

Fudge cleared his throat and turned to the Wizengamot. "The jury is adjourned to make their decision."

They left, and not five minutes later they had filed back in. Harry grinnned. He knew what that meant.

Albus Dumbledore, being Chief Mugwump, was the one who stood to deliver the verdict. He cleared his throat. "We hereby find Sirius Black innocent on all charges excepting that of illegal Animagus. We hereby fine Sirius Black 1,000 galleons for this count and require that he become registered within one month. We hereby award Sirius Black all of his confiscated posessions along with 15,000 galleons as compensation, along with custody of his godson, Harry James Potter."

Dumbledore then turned to stare dissappointedly at Peter. "We hereby find Peter Pettigrew guilt on twelve murder charges, one charge of being a Death Eater, and one charge of illegal Animagus. We hereby fine Peter Pettigrew 1,000 galleons and sentence him to a lifetime in Azkaban without parole."

-----

The courtroom erupted in an equal amount of cheers and boos as Pettigrew was dragged away and the ropes surrounding Sirius were sucked back into the chair. He shakily stood and looked out into the audience, searching for someone, anyone that he knew.

There. It had been years, but he would recognize Moony anywhere. He waved nervously, and Remus waved back. The other man made his way through the crowd and lifted himself over the railing and onto the floor before reaching back over and grabbing a small boy that looked to be about four. When the boy turned and looked at him, he nearly passed out. He would recognize that face anywhere. "Harry?" he croaked.

The boy smiled, and he felt as though his heart would burst. "Hi Sirius!" he said cheerfully. "Mr. Lupin says that you're my godfather!"

Remus snorted. "Oh, so you can call him Sirius but I'm still Mr. Lupin, eh?"

The boy had the grace to blush. "I'm sorry sir. What should I call you then?"

The werewolf laughed. "Remus is fine. Or Moony, whichever you prefer." He finally turned his gaze on Sirius. "Hey Paddy."

A wide smile split Sirus' features. "What did I tell you about calling me Paddy?"

Remus smiled as well, but it quickly fell off of his face. "I am so sorry, Padfoot. I should've- I should've known… can you ever forgive me?"

Sirius just pulled Remus into a brotherly hug. "There is nothing to forgive, old friend."

-----

"Where are we going Sirius?" Harry asked innocently from the back seat of the car Remus had rented and was currently driving. 'Please not Grimmauld Place, please not Grimmauld Place, please not Grimmauld Place…'

"Well Harry," Sirius said, "My great-uncle Alphard left me his house in his will. It's in a Muggle neighborhood, which is why we have to drive there."

Harry nodded, although inside he was jumping up and down in glee. No more evil portaits and crazy House Elves! "What's the adress?"

Sirius looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. "I've never been there before, actually… but this says the adress is Number Eight Harpshire Place."

Harry's eyes lit up. Harpshire Place was where Hermione lived. He would get to see her again before Hogwarts, and he would get to see her soon. He was saved replying to Sirius though as they pulled up in front of a four story house with a spacious front lawn.

"Holy crap," Sirius said calmly. "I knew he was rich, but not that rich."

Remus was staring at the house wide eyed, while Harry decided 'what the hell'. Might as well act like a six year old if he looked like one. "Come on!" he cried, grabbing Sirius' arm and dragging him out of the car and towards the house.

"Okay, okay!" he said, laughing. 'It feels odd, to be able to laugh again,' Sirius thought absentmindedly to himself.

Harry merely stood in awe when they entered the house. The entrance had a high ceiling with a chandelier hanging from it, and off to the right was a grand stair. Everything was covered in dust, but it didn't take away from the overall effect at all.

"Wow," he breathed.

-----

Nothing exciting happened the next few days- they were mostly spent cleaning and moving in. Sirius had gone down to the Ministry of Magic to register as an Animagus, but other than that everything had been normal, which was decidedly odd for him.

Maybe that was why he had decided to work up the courage to go and talk to Hermione. Maybe he just missed her. He didn't know, but whatever the reason, a week after they had moved in he found himself knocking on the door of Number Five.

An elderly woman anwered the door. "Yes?" she asked politely.

"Well," Harry said, suddenly feeling very awkward, "You see- we just moved in across the street, and I thought that perhaps I would take some time to meet the neighbors…"

The old woman smiled cheerfully. "An excellent idea, dear! My name is Mrs. Wilson, I actually live just down the street but I'm staying here with the Granger's daughter while they're away… Here, I'll call her down."

The woman walked over to the stairs and called up "Hermione dear, one of the new neighbors is here!"

A voice that he would have known anywhere called back. "Coming Mrs. Wilson!" His heart flew into his throat as Hermione walked down the stairs. She looked at him in surprise- she had obviously been expecting someone older.

"Hello," she said curiously, "My name's Hermione."

"I'm Harry Potter," he said with a grin, ofeering her his hand, which she shook. He felt a tingle race up his spine, but ignored it.

Mrs. Wildon, obviously sensing their discomfort, said "Hermione, why don't you show him your telescope?"

Harry perked up- he loved Astronomy. "You have a telescope?"

She nodded. "I love the stars."

He smirked. He knew that very well- they had often spent nights up in the Astronomy Tower, looking at the stars and forming new constellations. "Me too."

The next few hours were spent in Hermione's room, discussing the stars and planets and many other topics, ranging from whether 'Winnie the Pooh' was better than 'The Wind in the Willows' or vice versa (which was rather odd for him, as he had been nineteen not too long ago) to whether humans were arrogant to believe that alien life might not exist.

Before they knew it it was dusk, and Harry needed to head home for dinner. With a promise to stop by again tomorrow, he left, unable to keep the silly grin off of his face. He was back where he belonged.

-----

There was something off about Harry Potter- of this, Remus Lupin was sure. For one thing, in the car on the way to the mansion a week ago the boy hadn't questioned what Muggles were. And then the other day, when he had been lugging the things they had bought him up the stairs, he could of sworn he had heard a whisered Feather-Light Charm.

Maybe it was his imagination, but he doubted it. As a werewolf, his intuition was usually correct. Unfortunately it hadn't been with the case of Sirius and Wormtail. He cursed himself mentally once more. He had been a fool.

He had always prided himself on being sensible, and yet he had fallen for the lie that Pettigrew had constructed. Even if Sirius truly had forgiven him, he would never forgive himself.

But, then again, that was the way things needed to be.

And then there was the whole matter with Harry's family. Poppy Pomfrey had, after checking him, reported that there were healed over injuries that lended to years of abuse. But Dumbledore refused to believe that the boy's own family ould have done something like that.

He and Sirius had spoken about it, and decided to press charges on the Dursleys in a Muggle court, where Dumbledore could not interfere. The truth would come out this time.

Remus John Lupin swore it.

-----

_.:October 15th, 1999: The Last Full Day Before Averto Vicis:._

It was a bloody battle.

There were two meanings to that sentence- the first being along the lines of "It was a expletive: bloody battle out there!" and the second, "The battlefield was covered in the blood of the wounded and dead, soon to be joined by much, much more."

The second meaning would be correct.

Giants, vampyres, werewolves, humans… any and all creatures that Voldemort had managed to get on his side were fighting. The same went for the side of the Light. Any helping hands were welcome, though one was far more helping than most.

Harry Potter had, as of the current moment, felled three mountain trolls, eighteen vampyres, two werewolves, and eighteen Death Eaters. Overall, he was rather dissapointed; the battle had been going on for two hours, after all.

He had not, as of yet, been distracted by the shouts of pain, the battle cries, the whispered spells. Not until he heard her scream.

"Hermione!" he shouted, pushing his way through the battle. But he had been too far away; he knew, in his heart of hearts, that it would do no good. And yet, he still tried. He ran. He waded through the bodies of the dead and the injured, wishing more than anything to be able to fly. "HERMIONE!"

But he was too late. He knew, even as he heard the high pitched cackles and threw himself to the ground at her side. "Hermione," he whispered brokenly as he clutched her bruised and bloody body to his chest.

"Harry?" she breathed, her eyes flickering.

He bit his lip. "I'm here, 'Mione, just hold on, we'll get you to a Healer…"

She shook her head slightly. "They won't make it in time," she whispered, shuddering with a sudden onslaught of pain from her wounds. "I love you Harry."

"No," he sobbed. "Hermione, you can't leave me! I need you…"

"Goodbye, Harry."

And with that, her eyes dulled and fluttered closed for the last time, and Harry looked up at the red eyed bastard with tears in his eyes. "I will kill you," he hissed. And the man- no, thing- just laughed, and Apparated away…

-----

Miles away, a woman picked up the late edition and promptly dropped it, gasping. With shaking hands, Josephine DeLaney, former fiancee of a certain ex-convict, stared at the headline.

**Sirius Black Cleared of All Charges! Peter Pettigrew Convicted!**

She promptly fainted.

**AN: **So Harry and Hermione have met… what sort of mischief shall be caused next?

--Aerin


	4. Chapter Three: Master of Potions

**Chapter Three: Master of Potions**

_--"Oh, for goodness' sake! not that ridiculous Grim again!" Hermione, PoA_

Four months had passed since that fateful day when he had journeyed into the past, and many things had changed with them. For one, Harry had managed to smooth talk both Sirius and Remus _and _the Grangers into letting he and Hermione take karate and judo. They were also going on daily runs. All four adults agred this was a little odd for six year olds, but the Granger's didn't care- they were just glad that their daughter was finally doing something physical and finally had a friend.

Sirius and Remus weren't pushovers though. Harry realized that one of these days they were going to ask about the strangeness he seemed to old, and he would ready to be answer them then. If they weren't going to bring up the subject though, he wasn't about to. He wouldn't tell them until they confronted him about it, and as they hadn't yet he wasn't worried.

He had decided to tell them the whole truth when they asked. He wasn't sure if they would believe him, but if they did it would be nice to have a few people know the truth. He would probably tell Hermione too, a few years into Hogwarts. He didn't think she was ready to know yet, especially the fact that they had dated. That, he wasn't sure if he would ever tell her, and if he did it wouldn't be until they were going out in this timeline. Not only because it would weird her out, but because it would be so painful. He had bought a ring in his time. He was planning to propose to her when the alarms had gone off. They had gone into battle, and she had died. And he had never been able to ask her.

He sighed heavily and turned back to the potion he was working on. He had decided that it would be worth it to use wandless magic to create a Potions lab and supplies; healing potions and otherwise would come in handy when Voldemort returned. And Harry had no doubt that the bastard would, even if Harry prevented all the ways it had happened before. that son of a bitch was just too stubborn to stay half-dead.

Putting a cap on the finished flasks of Wolfsbane Potion, he heavily sighed. He wished he could give it to Remus for the upcoming transformation, it hadn't been discovered yet. Besides, there wasn't a way that he could think of getting it to Remus without him knowing it was he who had made it. Actually, the only thing he could think of was getting it published, but he knew for a fact that the scientists were on the right track now and would be suspicious if he did so. He could create a huge storage of it as well.

And he could continue his work on trying to find the cure for Lycanthropy. Ever since Remus had died, he had vowed that he would try to prevent anyone else from having to live the horror that had been Moony's life the last time around. He had made several breakthroughs, and remembered them all. After stocking the right ingredients, it would be easy to continue his study, and in this time, it would still benefit Remus.

The hardest part about having a secret Potions lab was keeping it a secret. He could only really work late at night when Sirius and Remus were asleep, and had an alamr system set up so that he would know if anyone was approacing the main room. He didn't exactly want to be caught in the middle of brewing something like the Wolfsbane.

With a heavy sigh he stored the bottles of potion in the drawrer marked "Wolfsbane" and left the room, shutting the door behind him and watching it fade into the stone wall before falling asleep as his head touched his pillow.

Over his time here he had slipped into a routine. He would wake up in the morning, he and Hermione would meet up and go running, they would head to their respective houses and get ready, and then walk to school together. After school they would walk over to the martial arts place, where their lessons were. At five o'clock they would finally walk home, eat dinner at their own houses and sometimes the same, and either go out to play some sort of sport or just sit around and talk. Then they would go home and go to bed. Harry would wake up at midnight and head into his lab, where he worked on his potions, and then sneak out and fall asleep once more before the cycle started all over again.

It wasn't nearly as rigorous as his training had been during the war- but, then again, he was only six, going on seven, and his body wouldn't be able to handle it. He wished he could use magic though. Well, in all technicality he could as the Ministry couldn't trace wandless magic, but it took too much out of him to do it very often, at least until his owers had fully manifested themselves. He probably shouldn't have even done the lab, as that had eaten away much of the stores of magic he had left- but it was worth it. It was always easier to save lives when you had the means to. He had found this out the hard way.

And he was going to save lives.

Tom Riddle, and the entire world for that matter, could count on it.

-----

Sirius crumpled his eigth piece of paper and sighed, banging his head against the desk. What was he supposed to say to her, to get her to understand? To understand that he understood, understood why she had done what she did, and that he forgave her? That he would have done the same thing, and that he loved her still?

With a sigh, he pulled out another sheaf of paper, dipped his quill in the ink, and started again.

_Josephine-_

_Hello. Have to admit, I thought that was one name I'd never write again. I thought you'd forgotten all about me, to tell the truth. Figured you'd be married with about nine kids by now- remember, James and Remus and I always said we could picture you with a helluva lot of children. Then you'd snort and say that if we were the ones who had to give birth, we'd change our minds._

_Rather off-topic I suppose, but the memories are all coming back now. You can't remember anything good in Azkaban, so I just about forgot all about you. And then you sent me the letter, and I can barely concentrate with all the memories rushing in._

_I need you to understand something, but I just don't know how to say it. I never was the best with words, not like James or Remus. Or you. Um, well, yeah, Harry's with me here… but he needs more than just a godfather Josie. He needs his godmother too. And I need you._

_I guess that's what I'm trying to say. I need you, Josie. I need you so much that I feel like I'll end up spontaneously combusting without you. And I forgive you, Josie, because there's nothing to forgive. I would have done the same thing in your shoes, except that I probably would have left sooner. I was never as good at debating a point as you._

_So, well… I'm at Great-Uncle Alphard's house, I'm sure you remember the location, but let me assure you it's changed a lot since we were last here. You're welcome to visit anytime… just send Yougit with your reply. And, yes, I still have him- he was just a baby when I got him, you know. Old owl he is, but faithful as hell. I think he missed me._

_Love,_

_Sirius_

Satisfied with the letter, he creased it and slid it into the envelope, adressing it to "Josephine DeLaney" and sealing it with the Black seal. He then whistled. "Oy there, Yougit! C'mere, I've got a letter!" The black owl with the grey speckles swooped down and allowed Sirius to attach the letter to his leg.

"This goes to Josie," he said firmly. "You remember her? She lives in America now. Think you can find her?" Yougit gave an indignant hoot, as though he highly resented his abilities being questioned. Sirius chuckled. "All right, all right. Go on then, boy."

He watched his owl fly out the window with a barely concealed sigh of longing. Josie. He might see Josie soon.

-----

Josephine looked up as a very tired black owl soared through her window. "Hello," she mumbled, "What do we have here?" Her heart clenched as she saw the familiar script on the front of the envelope. "Sirius," she breathed.

By the time she had finished the letter, she was in tears. She laughed through them. "So, still around, eh Yougit?" The owl hooted in repsonse and nipped her ear. She chuckled again. "I will never understand why he decided to name you that. Just part of his character I suppose." Her face fell as she realized just how much he had probably canged after Azkaban.

She pulled a sheet of stationary oout of the box in the corner of her desk and plucked a dark violet pen from the cup sitting on the right of her. Biting her lip, a grin suddenloy crossed her face and she began to write.

_Sirius: Do you remember?_

_If it'd bring me home to you_

_There is nothing I wouldn't do_

_If it'd bring me home to you_

_Never leave my side once I'm home to you._

_If it brings me home it's true_

_Fire and ice I'd walk straight through_

_If it'd bring me home to you_

_Never leave your side once I'm home to you._

_Still holds true, you know._

_January Second, Three o'Clock PM. Yes, I know the way. That was my first time meeting any of your family, you know. Of course, I kind of regretted meetng any of the rest of them… except Andromeda, she was nice._

_Love,_

_Josie_

She finished the letter with a flourish and set it on her desk. "You rest here for a day or two," she told Yougit softly. "You can join Artemis in the tower, if you want." He hooted his consent and left Josie to her jumble of thoughts, a haunting melody chasing through her mind.

-----

Hermione finally finished packing the small travel suitcase to her mother's specifications and heaved it up before dropping it on her bed with a small 'whoosh!' She was just glad that she would be staying at Harry's house this time- usually either Mrs. Johnson came to 'sit' her or she had to go to her aunt's house, which smelled of the dozens of cats she had and was always very boring.

But this time was different. This time she got to stay at… was it the Potters'? The Blacks'? The Lupins'? She supposed it was Blacks', as Harry had said it was Sirius' uncle's home. She remembered the first day she had met Sirius and Remus… god that had been embarassing.

Well, what had she been supposed to think when she found out that Harry was living with two men? They had all burst out laughing when she asked, and Sirius had told Harry "I like this girl, not afraid to ask questions." He had then informed her that he and Remus were brothers in every sense of the word but blood, and she had blushed and apologized profusely as he burst out laughing again.

Despite her blushing whenever either he or Remus came around, remembering that day, he turned out to be a wonderful man, sort of like a surrogate uncle to her. He loved pranks, and refused to tell them his secrets. Remus was like an uncle to her as well- he was rather bookish, but had the same sptirit and sense of fun that Sirius did. He actually reminded her quite a bit of herself.

"Mum!" she called out. "I'm ready to go, Mum!" Her mother immediately poked her head in the door.

"Very good dear, your father and I were about to leave anyway. Why don't you just go and walk across the street. See you in a month, sweetheart." Her mother was gone before she could say a word, and Hermione sighed heavily. Sometimes she wished that her parents were different, but no was no time for such things. She slipped on her coat, picked up the suticase and hurried out of her room, down the stairs, out the door and across the street to Harry's house, knocking on the door.

It was Sirus who opened the door. "Ah, Hermione!" he said with a wide smile. It then fell as he saw that her parents weren't behind her. "They couldn't see fit to come, eh?" His voice was a mixture of anger and regret.

She sighed. "Busy, at least that was what Mum said."

Sirius shook his head and scoffed. "Sorry, just a bit too close to my own childhood for my liking. At least yours like you." He sighed and stepped aside, the grin suddenly back in place. "Come in, milady! Young Harry awaits!"

She giggled, the previous conversation forgotten. "Thank you, kind sir," she said in a regal voice, walking into the entranceway before dissolving into laughter once more.

Harry hurried down the stairs at the sound of it, and stopped on the landing. "What's so funny?" he asked, grinning. She juist shook her head and continued to laugh for a moment before trailing off with a last chuckle.

"Hello, Harry!" she said happily.

His smile widened. "'Lo, 'Mione. You'll be stayiing in your room, alright?" She nodded. In the time since she had come to be Harry's friend, Sirius had insisted that they set up a room for her, the one next to Harry's. She had protested at first, but he had told her that as she spent as much time at his house as she did her own, she might as well have a room here to. Besides, he said, he had far too many spare rooms as it was. She had finally given in, and as a result her room had come to be.

It was decorated much the same as her room at home, with the black and silver star walls and the glow in the dark constellations on the ceiling. The things in it were much more interesting though- Sirius had given her a revolving globe that showed what the night sky looked like in different parts of the world on the given day, and she assumed it ran by batteries as it wasn't plugged in. Remus had donated a small bookshelf and about twenty books which he told her had been some of his favorites when he was younger. She had already read through all of them, and they were wonderful. And Harry had chosen her bed and bedding, the frame of the bed a deep mahogony with a silver crescent moon as the headboard and a black and silver comforter that matched her walls. One of the pillows was the same, while the other matched the sheets, which were a silvery color and light and cool to the touch. A small pillow matching the headboard lay to the side by the wall.

Harry had chosen the desk and chairs as well- the reclining chair was apholstered in the same material as the bedding, and the desk and desk chair were part of a set with the bed. The cushion of the seat matched the comforter as well, and on the back of the desk closest to the wall was the same crescent moon as on the bed. Two inkpots were on the desk, one black and one silver, with a large supply of black feather quills and black and silver pens in a jar decorated with silver stars on the right. The drawer on the left held Astronomy themed stationary, colored pencils, paper, and just about anything else she could need. The lamp on the desk corner was silver, and matched the tall one by the book corner.

She had thanked them feverishly for it, and told them it was far too much, but they wouldn't listen. Sirius just told her that he had far more money than he knew what to do with, and furnishing the bedroom of a surrogate niece was perfect. She had, being her, burst into tears and hugged him. He was shortly followed by Remus and Harry.

Depositing the small suitcase in the wardrobe, which was the same mahogany as the bed and desk and had the crescent moon in a position similar to that of the desk, she turned to smile at Harry. "Do you want to play football?" she asked mischeviously. "Because if I recall correctly, I still owe you a butt-kicking from last time." Although she had been reluctant when he had first introduced her to the game, she had slowly but surely began to love it, and was now one of the best girls at their school at it. Needless to say, all the other students except Harry were surprised- she had begun an obvious transformation from friendless bookworm to athletic, friendly bookworm.

She had no real friends beside Harry, but she was still kind to the others; it didn't bother her at all anyways, for she knew somehow that she and Haarry shared a bond much deeper than that of just best friends, and was the happiest she had ever been when he was around.

Harry stuck out his tongue. "Sure, but I'm gonna whup you!"

She poked him in the chest. "Not very likely, Potter!" She ran out of the rom and down the stairs, Harry close behind her, passing Sirius in a blur as he climbed him, leaving him to scratch his head and say "What the hell was that, then?"

-----

Sirius was surprised to walk into his bedroom and hear a hoot. "Well, hello, Yougit," he murmured. "Wondered when you'd get back- didn't think it would be so soon. Only three days, eh? Does that mean it's good news?" The owl hooted in response, and with a shaking hand Sirius unroilled the parchment that it gave him.

When he had finished reading it, there were tears in his eyes along with his smile, for he _did _remember. It was _their _song. The one that she and Lily had sang at both of their parents' funerals. The one that Remus had told him had been sung at Lily and James', not that he had been allowed to attend. It was what the Marauders had come to call "the song". It had no real title, at least not that Sirius could remember. Just the familiar words and the bittersweet melody…

Shaking his head, he pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a resonse.

_Of course I remember, Josie. How could I forget the song? I'll see you then._

_Love,_

_Sir_

-----

As soon as he was sure the others in the house were asleep, he slipped down to the lab and continued to work on the cure. So far, he had managed to find a way to combine Permanent Stick Potion, commonly used to help people fight off reoccuring allergic reactions, and the Wolsfbane Potion to create a mixture that, while volatile when ingested by non-lycanthropes, would make it unnecessary to take the Wolsfbane more than once in a lifetime, as it's effects would remain duplicated. He had managed all that in the past, and had been on the stage he had currently gotten the seven cauldrons to- trying to find a way to add in a Anti-Allergy Potion (to counteract silver poison and intolerance) without blowing everything up.

He carefully added the half-teaspoon armadillo bile to the brew in one of the cauldrons, meticulously recording all of the smallest details of what he did and what the results were. He breathed a sigh of relief when nothing large happened and the potion continued to simmer. He had never been quite so glad for the training that led up to his Potion's Master status as he was now; it had been grueling, doing that and the training to be a Defense Against the Dark Art's Master along with the Sixth and Seventh Year curriculums, but at least he knew the ways to add things to a potion so that, hopefully, it wouldn't all go kaboom.

Several hours later, and triumphant with the succesful addition of an Anti-Allergy potion, he rolled into bed, satisfied more now than ever with his work. He fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

**AN: **There were a lot of grammar/spelling errors in this chapter, no? Well, not now:)

--Aerin


	5. Chapter Four: Do You Believe In Magic

**Chapter Four: Do You Believe In Magic**

_--"It's S.P.E.W., Ronald, not spew!" Hermione, GoF_

"Sirius!" Harry shouted, running into the house, "Sirius!"

Sirius rushed out of the kitchen. "What's wrong?" he exclaimed, looking worriedly around.

"Sirius!" Harry said, tugging on his godfather's sleeve to lead the man outside. "Sirius, Hermione floated!"

The man stared him, uncomprehending. "What?"

"It was _magic_, Sirius! She tripped and fell, and I tried to catch her, 'cause it looked like she'd break her arm or something, but she just floated there on her face, like, a foot off the ground! It was _magic_!"

His eyes widened as he finally understood what his godson was saying. "She's a witch?"

Harry shrugged, trying hard to maintin the 'innocent six-year-old' act. "I don't know, but I'm sure it was magic, Sirius!"

Sirius nodded. "Alright kiddo, alright, let's just go out there and see-" He stopped as they reached the yard to find Hermione still floating, albeit with her feet down this time.

"Make it stop!" she said, sounding slightly hysterical. "I don't know what to do! I can't get down!"

The man forced himself to shut his wide open mouth and hurried the rest of the way to Hermione. "Okay," he said in a calm voice, rubbing her back, "I want you to picture yourself on the ground, alright? Remember what it feels like to have your feet on the ground, to be putting your weight on them…" An instant later, she was doing so- at least until she threw herself at Sirius and hugged him.

"Oh, thankyouthankyouthankyou, I was so scared, what was that? What happened? What's going on? Oh, you got me down, thankyouthankyouthankyou…"

Harry couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. That was so typical Hermione. Sirius, while his godson was laughing, was trying to figure out the best way to tell Hermione the truh. Perhaps he should break it to her gently. Yes, that was it. Gently.

"Hermione, you're a witch."

As she stared at him in sudden shock, having stopped hugging him and decided to stand once more on the ground, he mentally congratulated himself. 'Nice going, Sirius. You broke it to her _real _easy. Smart one, buddy.' Shrugging off the sarcastic voice in his head, he turned back to the situation at hand to explain further.

"See, there really is such a thing as magic. Remus and Harry and I are wizards, andit looks like you're a witch. That was magic you just did, Hermione."

She continued to stare at him as though he'd grown a second head. "There's no such thing as magic," she said matter of factly.

"Then how could I do this?" He pulled out his wand and aimed it at a branch on the ground. "Wingardium Leviosa!"

And Hermione, the whole endeaver too much for her to take in, fainted.

-----

When she awoke, she was in her bed at Harry's house. Harry was sitting in the chair by the bed, and while it was obvious he knew she was awake, he seemed to be letting her think things over. So think things over she did.

The first thing she thought was of how much more she liked it here than at her house. Not just the room, because while she did like the layout much better, it was more to it than that. She loved her parents to death, but she couldn't exactly say that she liked them or being in their company very much, as things were always awkward when they were around. This was probably because since they were gone so often, they didn't really know her all that well. For goodness' sakes, they thought she still liked pink!

No, she supposed it was really the atmosphere here that she liked. The way that Sirius and Remus were always around and would do anything for Harry… and just about the same for her, it seemed. Sometimes, they were more like parents to her than her own were. Besides, the Grangers' house was filled with heirlooms and trophies and breakable items, it was always impeccably neat, and the back yard housed a golf course she was never allowed near.

It was nothing like that at Harry's house. Here, there was always a slight messiness to the place, a lived-in atmosphere. You could touch almost any of the things put on display, examine them- and often times, so long as he was there, Sirius would help you test how easily they would break. And the backyard, instead of a stuffy golf course, was home to a football field, a small pond perfect for swimming, and a swingset. It was more of a family home than an adult's one.

Forcing her mind back to the present, she thought of the revelation in the yard. Magic. It would certaintly explain a lot of things- the times she had escaped bullies by fitting through spaces seemingly far too small, the time last year when the kitchen stove had been on fire and, right before burning her, had mysteriously gone out… the time she had turned her mother's hair green when she had said she was going on another trip. As odd as it sounded, it made perfect sense.

It also explained the way Sirius managed to fix all of the things she and Harry had either accidentally or on purpose broken, with or without Sirius' help, during the past few months. Once they had broken an enamel duck, and the next day it had been back on it's shelf, good as new. That could easily be magic.

And the globe in her room. She had thought it had run on batteries, but it probably ran on spells. Just how ignorant was she, really? She mentally berated herself. Of course it couldn't have run on batteries, it was far too complex. A plug-in, maybe, but not batteries. They would have to be changed far too often.

She looked up, her decision made, and met Harry's eyes with her own determined ones, saying only three words. "I believe it."

-----

Their schedule changed a bit after that. For the past two days they had continued to run in the morning, but on returning Harry had begun to give her flying lessons. She had been a bit terrified at first, what with what had happened the other day, but at Harry's insistence that she should try, that he would be right there, she had finally done so- and it was amazing.

There were no words to describe the exhiliration of flying. The wind whipping through her hair, the sensation of nothing between her and the ground but a piece of wood, some magic, and thin air… it was breathtaking. Harry had told her she was a natural, and she had glowed at the compliment. He had then gone on to describe a sport called "Quid-ditch", which sounded like an amazing amount of fun. He'd said that as soon as she finised up learning rudimentary flying skills in a week or two, they could play.

It would be Christmas in a few days, and she had realized with a jolt the day before that her parents weren't going to be there. In all liklihood they would send her her presents as they had done in the past; for the past three years, in fact. Not that she really remembered the first one or two Mr. and Mrs. Granger weren't there for very well. It still pained her, but at least this time she would be spending it with people she considered family instead of just a babysitter.

She sighed and tapped the pen against the stationary. She was currently trying and failing to write a letter to her parents to send along with _their _present- a very handy trunk that Sirius had helped her pick out, one that was magically coded (though she'd tell them it was electric- she wanted to tell them about magic face-to-face) so that only they could open it and had all sorts of anti-theft and water-resistant charms on it, along with a brass engraving of their wedding photo on the front.

Biting her lip, she finally added the finishing touches to the letter and sealed it, stamping it with the one they had gotten her several years ago. It made an imprint that looked like on of the lipstick residues from kisses in cartoons, and they had told her that it was "so you can seal every letter with a kiss". She grinned and set it to the side, making a mental note to ask Sirius to send it later.

Hermione looked up as there was a knock on her open door. She was met with the sight of Harry leaning against the frame with a mischievious look on his face. She answered with one of her own. "What are we doing this time?" she asked, a hint of laughter in her tone.

Shortly after arriving, she and Harry had gotten caught up in a prank war against Sirius and Remus. And while she and Harry couldn't use wands as they didn't have any, it did make their ideas all the more ingenious, and impressive when they worked.

Her friend smirked, shutting and locking the door behind him. "Here's what we do…"

The next morning Sirius and Remus were shocked to wake up to find themselves tied to their beds and covered with whipped cream.

-----

Josephine tapped her finger against the wood of her kitchen table. She stopped when she realized the rhythm her subconscious had decided upon, and smiled wryly with no real humor. The march. That day would always haunt her nightmares. The together sound of the Magical Law Enforcement marching to her door to inform her of all that had happened, and then just marching away agin, as if they had not just delivered Hell to her doorstep….

She shook her head in a futile attempt to clear it and hevaed out a heavy sigh, absentmindedly rubbing her left arm, her scar. It was a bad habit of hers, to rub it. It had started when she had first gotten it- while it had healed, it had itched so badly that she was always rubbing at it, and now she did whenever she was upset, nervous, or just lost in thought. Noticing it, she frowned and forced herself to stop, walking over to the counter to pour herself a cup of the now-finished cofee. Her friends had always found it off that she made it the Muggle way, but it tasted so much better that way. Sirius had agreed…

She forced her mind off of thoughts of him. She would see him soon enough; no need to fret about it. So why couldn't she stop?

-----

Dumbledore looked up as the quill scribbled something out. "Hermione Granger," he mumbled. "Muggleborn; small accidental magic incidents, nothing to prove her of any large amount of talent till now…" He raised his eyebrows as he saw what was written next. "Levitated herself for almost three mintues? That is almost Potter-worthy; the boy did something similar a few years ago…" Being him, he refused to remember that the scale on which Harry had done it had been much smaller, as Harry had been very young at the time. "I can use that…"

He smiled at nothing in particular, twiddling his thumbs. Harry's godfather had taken him, and no doubt Harry would now not help him; but perhaps, just perhaps, the girl would… maybe he could even get her to befriend Potter during her stay at Hogwarts, spy on him for him… It was for the boy's own protection after all. Voldemort may be a spirit, but he would go to all costs to kill Harry. Yes, the girl would agree; he was sure of it.

Little did he know just how very wrong he was…

-----

Harry was in his lab again. It was Christmas Eve, and he knew that he probably should be sleeping, but he just _knew _that he was on the edge of a breakthrough. He could feel it in his very soul.

With steady hands, he poured the chimaera blood onto the cauldron, stepping back and pulling up a quick shield that took up almost no energy as a plume of smoke emitted from the cauldron. When the smoke cleared, he put down the shield and hurried forward to examine the potion. A smile crept upon his face.

"Well Potter," he murmured to himself, "Congratulations on being the first human being to ever successfully meld an Anti-Allergy Potion, a Permanent Stick Potion, and a Wolfsbane Potion into one." His smile widened. "I'm well on my way."

But on his way to what, he didn't really know.

-----

Thousands of miles away, in a forest off the coast of Brazil, a dark spirit floated though the forest, sneering at the happiness and sense of accomplishment emanating from the one at the other end of the magical bond. "Potter…" he hissed in a hoarse voice, the only sound he could manage to make.

What could be seen of his eyes darkened as he thought of the boy who had caused him all this trouble. He vowed that when he got a body, that child would die. The only problem was how he would get a body. He could, of course, inhabit one of his followers, but all of the loyal ones were in Azkaban, and the rest had abandoned him… No. That wouldn't work.

He could always find an unwilling host, but that was always difficult. It was extremely hard to remain in place when the person was trying to kick you out of their head. He could try and convert someone to his side, but from his various spying endeavors it was obvious that the Wizarding World still held him in too much contempt to get very many to side with him.

There was Pettigrew, as well. He had been watching that day, when Black was carted off. The Ministry really was full of fools. They honestly thought he would have been able to convert Black to his side? He had lost count of the amount of times he had tried to convince the man when he was still in power and the Potters alive, but the boy had insisted on remaining a blood traitor.

He could have inhabited Pettigrew, but the stupid rat had gotten caught, and Black had been freed. That was a setback for him, as he had been hoping that he would be able to instill hatred of the magical community in Black in a few years, and turn him sympathetic to the cause. The stupid rat had ruined all of his plans.

But it didn't matter. He would just bide his time. He had plenty of it, after all.

-----

Harry woke up in the morning when Hermione jumped on his bed. "Happy Christmas!" she cried out, her face wreathed with a large smile. "Come on, it's time for breakfast!"

He laughed and pulled the covers off, jumping out of bed to reveal himself to be wearing red and green plaid pants and button up shirt, both made out of flannel. "Okay, okay, I'm coming!"

She giggled and ran out of the room with a small shriek when he started chasing her, her white nightgown floating out behind her and her bare feet padding on the ground. They eventually reached the kitchen, where Sirius and Remus had set out a huge breakfast consisting of anything you could imagine; bangers, toast, eggs of all types and styles, and…

"Chips?" Harry asked, a small frown creasing his face. Sirius laughed.

"Of course! Your father and Remus and I used to always have these on Christmas morning!"

Remus nodded. "We did indeed- or we would have if James hadn't eaten all of them."

Their breakfast was filled with more lighthearted humor, and once they finished and the adults had vanished the mess away, the had given in to the requests of Harry and Hermione to hurry to the living room and open presents.

They had seperated the gifts into piles, and took turns opening them. Hermione went first as guest. She had said that Harry should, but he had insisted and she had finally given in.

The gift she chose at random was from Harry. She glanced at him and smiled before opening it and gasping. It was a beautiful book, the cover black leather and embossed with a single silver star. She pressed her thumb against the small space on the clasp, which glowed silver for a moment before clicking. She opened the book to reveal blank pages with silver edges and a pattern of silver stars around the edges. A diary.

She sent a wide grin his way. "Thank you so much Harry! It's beautiful!"

Harry smiled shyly. "It's charmed so only you can open it, and it had charms on it so you won't lose it and it can't be destroyed… I'd hoped you'd like it…"

"It's wonderful!" She hugged him, and it was his turn to open a present.

The one he chose was from Sirius. When he opened it, he gasped. He looked at his godfather, his eyes shining brightly. "Is this…" he breathed.

Sirius nodded. "The wards are so thick here, the Ministry won't be able to pick it up… besides, we need to teach you two good prank spells so you can wreak havoc at Hogwarts!" He looked ecstatic at the idea.

Hermione looked at him. "What is it?" she asked curiously.

"He's going to get us wands!"

She squealed and threw herself at Sirius. "Oh, thank you sooo much!" Remus laughed.

"Let him breath, Hermione!" Bright red, she pulled back and dutifully sat by her pile of gifts.

"Sorry," she mumbled, red. She brightened and looked at Remus. "Your turn, Remus!"

Remus' gift was a joint present from her and Harry. They both watched nervously as he opened it. When he saw the silverish tint to the metal, he immediately backed away in reflex.

"It's white gold," Harry and Hermione said together in reassuring tones, before turning to each other and sticking their tongues out.

Sirius frowned at them. "How…"

Harry shrugged. "Well, it was rather obvious. He disappeared all last full moon, and looked sick before and after it. Besides, Hermione and I found stuff about symptoms in a book, and you call him Moony all the time. It makes sense."

Hermione nodded. "I mean, it isn't like it's important or anything." She turned to Remus, who was looking at him with wide eyes. "Well, finish opening it!" she encouraged.

He seemed to snap out of a stupor. "You know?" he asked, looking for confirmation. At their nods, he seemed bewildered. "And you don't care?"

The two children frowned. "Why would we?" Hermione asked with a small frown. "I mean, you were gone, which means that you probably locked yourself up somewhere, so it's not like you would hurt us. And besides, I highly doubt you wanted to be bitten!"

Harry nodded seriously. "Yeah! I mean, it's not like you walked up to a werewolf at full moon and held out your arm and said 'Ooh! Lookit me! Fresh meat!' I mean, you're not completely stupid, and I don't think you have a death wish. Now, open your gift!"

Still seemingly in shock, Remus finished opening it to reveal a necklace. The chain, as the children had revealed, was white gold, and the pendant was made out of the same material. It was a small disk of metal with an imprint on it looking like a wolf's footprint.

"It has loads of protection charms on it," Hermione informed him. "It makes sure you don't hurt yourself on full moon, and the chain is unbrakable, and it won't let anyone else hurt you."

"Well, except for curses," Harry piped in. "The man at the store said they didn't have anything for that."

The small girl nodded. "Yes. Do you like it?"

He smiled widely at them. "It's wonderful," he told them, gathering them into a hug.

After a moment, Sirius interrupted. "Don't I get to open a present?" he said with a pout. Remus chuckled and released the children from the hug.

Sirius' present of choice was from Remus. He opened it and frowned at what was inside. It housed a black helmet decorated in silver. "What's this for?" he asked curiously.

Remus smiled, the grin that marked him as a Marauder. "The rest is out back."

So the group dutifully trooped outside, only for Sirius to shriek with glee. "Where did you find her?" he called out to the werewolf, who was laughing.

"Hagrid gave her to me when I asked."

Sirius continued to examine his precious motorcycle. "My baby! I thought I would never see her again! You rule, Moony!"

Hermione's teeth were chattering. "C-can we g-go inside n-now?"

Sirius had also received, from Harry and Hermione, a pendant similar to Remus', except that the pawprint on his was that of a dog. Remus looked at them suspiciously when he saw this, but said nothing. From her parents, Hermione had received two practice blades, one for her and one for Harry, and a note saying that they had decided to give in to her pleas and arrange for the two to have fencing lessons. Harry had been delighted, as she hadn't informed him for fear her parents would say no.

Sirius had also given the two of them brand new Nimbus Nineteen Ninetys, and from Remus they each got a pair of comfortable dragonhide boots and gloves, charmed to protect the wearer and to fit to their size. Sirius had gotten Remus three rare books that the werewolf had been admiring but unable to afford, and the two men received a gift of a new tea set from Hermione's parents in gratitude for taking care of their daughter.

All in all, the four of them reflected in their rooms that night, it had been a wonderful Christmas.

-----

A short ways away from Ottery St. Catchpole in a house roughly resembling the leaning tower of Pisa, a redhaired family was celebrating their Christmas. Few gifts were exchanged, but the love of the day was felt nonetheless.

A few miles away from there, a blonde girl was celebrating her first Christmas without her mother. Her dreamy eyes filled with tears, she stared at the chair the most important woman in her life should have occupied while her father tried to forget his sorrows with a bottle of Firewhisky.

In a townhouse an hour's drive away from Sirius' home, a clumsy boy celebrated the holiday with his aunt, great-Uncle, and various other family members before visiting two very special people in a place called St. Mungos. A small rose could be found on each of their bedside tables after he left.

A boy with platinum-blonde hair scowled at a house-elf as it delivered his food slightly cold. The snobbish party carried on, Ministry executives milling about the mansion, commenting on what a delightful boy he was as he gave them a sickly sweet grin.

A girl with goldenrod hair smiled at her aunt and opened a present, a beautiful new doll with shining red hair and sparkling blue eyes. With a squeal, she launched herself at her surrogate mother, who laughed and hugged her.

And in Hogwarts castle, remaining students feasted and celebrated, wizard crackers giving out gifts of all sorts and a manipulative Headmaster smiling benignly at the silliness of youth.

**A/N: **And there it is, edited for grammatical/spelling errors. Yay! Who can guess who the last girl is? A cookie if you're right:)

--Aerin


	6. Chapter Five: The Godmother

**Chapter Five: The Godmother**

_--"Do the pig's snout, Tonks!" Hermione/Ginny, OotP_

January second. The day he had been both dreading and looking forward to with all his heart for the past week and a half. For the millionth time he tugged on his hair and ran his hand over his goatee before pulling at his long-sleeved black tee to make sure it was straight. He turned to Remus, hwo was standing next to him looking highly amused. "Maybe I should-" He was cut off by the doorbell.

An odd mix of fear and joy in his stomach, Sirius slowly walked to the door and grabbed the doorknob. He hesitated for a moment before pulling it open with a fluid motion and his eyes lit on a face he hadn't thought to see again.

The first thought that came to mind was that she had cut her hair- it had used to fall to just above her elbows in a dark blonde wave, and now came down to about an inch below her shoulders. She had on dark jeans and a navy blue shirt under a heavy black coat that matched black earmuffs. She smiled, and her blue eyes sparkled. "'Lo, Sir," she said softly, staring into his.

He smiled back, unable to take his eyes away from her face. "'Lo, Josie." He came to his senses and moved to the side. "Here, come in."

She stepped in, putting the earmuffs in her coat pocket and the coat on the hanger by the door, revealing her shirt to be three-quarter sleeved. "Wow," she murmured. "It looks great, Sirius. Definitely like the color scheme better."

His grin grew wider at the mention of what the house had used to look like. It was now homey colors of red and brown and orange, but it had once been flourescent pink and green. His Uncle Alphard had always ahd a flare for the dramatic. "Me too. Remus is in the kitchen, and Harry is out back flying with his friend Hermione, she lives across the street. Actually just found out she's a witch- accidentally levitated herself in our garden. She's a few months younger than Harry, I believe."

Josie smiled. "I'm glad Harry has a friend. I haven't seen Remus in nearly as long as- as I haven't seen you." The atmosphere had fallen just as surely as if she had told him that she had a fiancee and had lied in her letter.

Sirius tried to salvage what was left by nodding and leading her to the kitchen. The ten second walk there suddenly seemed all too long, and the silence was getting to him. Remus was sitting at the kitchen table when they walked in, and immediately stood, his face wreathed in smiles. "Josephine!" He stepped forward and hugged her, and Sirius felt jealousy rising in his heart. Not because he thought she was in love with Remus or him her, but because he hadn't thought to do the same thing.

She pulled away from Remus and patted him on the head. "I think you're taller!" All three began to laugh, but after a moment another awkward silence fell.

"Well," Remus finally said, "I'll go check on the kids. Why don't you two have a chat?" He was gone before either of them could say anything. Sirius had a sheepish grin on his face when he turned to face Josephine.

"Would you like a seat, Josie?" he asked courteously, gesturing to an armchair apholstered with a black maerial with silver stars that usually belonged to Hermione. She sat gracefully, and he took a seat in his own chair, the seat of which was a soft crimson and gold.

Josie looked down art her hands in her lap for a moment before looking up. "I'm sorry, Sirius," she said without premeable. "I should have never doubted you, ever. I should have known that you would never do something like that, and even one instant where I didn't remember that shows what a weak-minded, foolish-"

"Not at all," he said, interrupting. "Josie, you're one of the least-foolish people I know. The fact that you ever believed me innocent at all shows that. If it's forgiveness you think you need, then I give it to you, and gladly."

She nodded and looked down at her hands. "Thank you," she whispered. "I really don't deserve it…. but I thank you anyways."

He squeezed her hand. "Not at all." He took in a deep breath. "Josie… I know I mentioned in my letter, but… Harry needs a godmother, not just a godfather. I realize that this may be asking a lot, but this is a huge house, and I'd love to fill it up with friends and family… Would you be willing to stay? Not just for my sake, but for Harry's?" He held his breath in anticipation as he finished.

She smiled at him. "I'd love to stay. You're sure it isn't a problem?"

He laughed aloud in relief. "I'm sure. Besides, we really need someone around who can cook without the help of magic; it just doesn't taste the same."

Josephine joined in his laughter. "It'd be great to cook for you guys; must be my Weasley blood." She paused. "Speaking of Weasleys, have you heard from my Aunt Molly?"

Sirius frowned. "Actually, I think I did get a letter from her and Arthur apologizing shortly after the trial. She offered to babysit for Harry anytime I needed. She says she's had another kid this one's finally a girl. Named her Ginevra, if I remember right, Ginny for short."

"Wow, I finally have a… well, not a niece, exactly… female second cousin? I'm not sure."

"Me either. Why do you ask, though? About Molly, I mean."

She shrugged. "She was always my favorite aunt. Just curious how she's doing, and whether she had talked to you and apologize yet or not for being such a jerk."

"She was a jerk?"

"She was one of the ones who tried and convince me you were guilty. Not really a jerk, I suppose, but she did owe you an apology."

"Well, she did give me one, so we're even now." Their conversation was cut off by Harry running into the room, Hermione at his heels. They skidded to a stop as they caught sight of Josie.

"Hello," Harry said curiously. "Who are you?"

Sirius smiled at Harry; Josephine was too surprised at the sight of him to speak. "Harry, this is your godmother, Josephine DeLaney."

Harry forced himself to look surprised, although it was no surprise at all; he was just glad that this time around, he had met Josephine while Sirius was alive, and her case of depression was probably much lighter. At least, he hoped so; it was winter, and he remembered that her case at least had always been worse then.

"I have a godmother?" he said, his voice sounding almost disgustingly innocent. Hermione elbowed him, and he responsibly blushed. "Sorry."

Regaining control of her senses, Jospehine smiled, her eyes sparkling with tears. "Yes, Harry, you do. I'm sorry that I didn't come back sooner."

"That's okay," Harry said, smiling widely. "You were probably very busy. Are you staying?"

"Yes," she said softly. "Yes, I am."

-----

Harry was sitting in his room that night, thinking for once instead of preparing potions. Josie was back. He had been one of the few people permitted to call her that, Hermione and Remus two of the others. It was nice to see her somewhat happy, he reflected. Especially seeing as he had frist met her at the reading of Sirius' will…

_.:August 31st, 1996:._

_He felt numb, as though something was wrong. And something was. He shouldn't be here. His godfather hadn't died. His godfather shouldn't have been able to die. His godfather hadn't deserved to die. His godfather hadn't deserved a godson like him, a godson that got him killed…_

_He was brought out of his thoughts by a sniffling next to him. He looked at the seat on his right and was surprised to see a woman he had never seen before, with her blonde hair mussed and her blue eyes dull. She was wearing a long set of black dress robes, looking more like a dress than anything, with lace at the front of the square collar and long sleeves. Her face was rather red, and there were tear streaks running down it._

"_Er, excuse me," he said awkwardly. "Are you, um, supposed to be here?"_

_She looked at him, startled. "Oh, yes! I'm sorry, I'm Josephine DeLaney, I was in the Order in the First War, but I moved to England… I was Sirius' fiancee, before he was arrested, I mean… I left because I couldn't face it all, I was such a coward, I never was a Gryffindor you know, I was a Slytherin, the whole school hated me, the Slytherins because I was muggle-born and everyone else because of my House…"_

_She was letting out her problems on him, and he felt slightly awkward, talking to a woman he barely knew and had just found out was once Sirius' fiancee. But, somehow, he understood how she felt. She had to let it all out to someone, and he was right there. He had felt the same way so many times…_

"_And then Sirius actually took the time to talk to me, and befriended me, and then I met Remus and Lily and James and _Peter_," his name was spat out like a curse, "And they became my best friends, but it all went wrong… it all went wrong…." She dissolved into tears, and he awkwardly patted her on the shoulder._

"_Sirius was my godfather," he said, feeling as though he should say something too. "I- I was there, when he… yeah. I really, really miss him."_

_She was staring at him in wonder. "Harry? I haven't seen you in years! I'm so sorry I didn't come back for you, but I just couldn't handle things, and Dumbledore had already given you to the Dursleys… Harry, I'm your godmother."_

_.:End Flashback:._

They had developed a bond after that, a bond created by mutual sorrows. That was one thing he regretted leaving behind, but he knew that so far, this new timeline was better for the ones he held dear. He only hoped that soon enough, it would be better for the world, and that a bond from sorrows wouldn't be the only kind he could forge with Josephine DeLaney.

-----

_.:December 12th, 1976:._

Josephine DeLaney was running to her Potions class. She was late. Horribly late. It was at least fifteen minutes since class had started, and seeing that the Potions Master was Head of Slytherin and firmly believed she should never have been placed there as a muggleborn, it was highly unlikely that he would believe her story of being locked in the Dormitory by Bellatrix and Narcissa Malfoy, no matter how true it was. So, of course, with her luck, someone had to run into her in the hallway and make it all worse.

"Sorry," she whispered, gathering up her spilled books, standing, and hurriedly backing away, only to look up to find herself in front of Sirius Black. She felt her ears go bright red, and looked quickly back down at the ground agaun. Attempting to brush past him, she was stopped in her tracks when he held out a hand and stopped her.

"No, it was my fault," he said, sounding curious. "You don't need to apologize- McGonnagall's told me a million times not to run in the halls, guess I should have listened."

"I should have been watching where I was going, I would have seen you. And I was running too." Her voice was quiet; having no friends at Hogwarts did, most assuringly, put a damper on her social skills.

"No, really, it was my fault, I should have stopped before turning the corner." A crease formed in his forehead. "Do I know you?"

"I'm Josephine, Josephine DeLaney, I'm in your Potions and DADA classes."

He frowned. "You're a Slytherin, then?"

She sighed and looked down. Of course he wasn't any different than any of the others. "It isn't like 'evil' is in the job description," she muttered to herself, barely realizing she was speaking aloud until she heard him laugh.

"True. I suppose I'm prejudiced like that, with my family like it is." His expression darkened for a moment before clearing. "So, you're on your way to Potions then?"

"Oh _no_!" she breathed. "I'm going to be even later!"

He shrugged. "Well, you're a Slytherin, right? You won't get points off."

She shook her head. "Yes I will. They all hate me. I'm a muggleborn, you see."

"Oh," he said, realization dawning in his eyes. He bit his lip, thinking, and then grabed her arm. "This way, it's a shortcut."

To surprised at the unexpected kindness to answer, she allowed herself to be dragged down several hallways and staircases and through a few doors until they suddenly emerged in front of the door to the Potions lab. He sent a grin her way, let go of her arm, and opened the door, walking straight in. Uncertaintly, she followed him.

Professor Blindel looked up at them and sneered. "What have we here?"

"Josephine was helping me with some Transfiguration homework, Professor. I'm sorry, we lost track of the time," he lied smoothly. "I have a note here from Madame Pince." He walked calmly to the front of the room and gave the note to the man, who examined it carefully, and finally nodded with a "harrumphing" sound.

"Fine, go to your seats! As I was saying before…"

Josephine looked over at Sirius. He was talking to James Potter under his breath, but almost as though sensing her glance, he turned to her and smiled, and she thought with a slight uplifting of her heart that perhaps, just perhaps, she had finally succeeded in making a friend at this school.

**AN: **And here is the chapter. Voila! Not as long as they usually are, but oh well.

--Aerin


	7. Chapter Six: A Rush of Blood To the Head

**Chapter Six: A Rush of Blood To the Head**

--"_I've been chucking Dungbombs at it all day." Ginny, OotP_

Amelia Bones had officially decided that today was a day sent straight from Lucifer.

Actually, the whole week, month, and past three years ever since that bumbling idiot of a man who called himself a Minister was elected had been. She just couldn't understand how the public had been foolish as to choose a man like _that _to govern them. She herself had proudly voted for Emmaline Vance. Unfortunatly, Ms. Vance had dropped out of the running when her fiance had been killed by Death Eaters.

She blew a loose strand of honey-blonde hair out of her face- a few bits and pieces always managed to slip out of the two braided buns she wore. Bright brown eyes peered out from a pretty face at the pile of papers in her box.

"Memo, memo, memo, invitation, memo, memo, jury duty- damn, memo, letter from Susan?" Her niece was currently staying with her uncle David (on her father's side) and his wife Anne in southern Wales. "I'll need to read that right away… memo, memo…what in Dante's nine levels…."

She stared at the piece of crisp paper in her hand, disbelieving. "What the…"

"MINISTER FUDGE!"

Ministry workers scattered as she stormed down the hall, white robes billowing behind her. Fudge poked his head out of his office, looking irritated, which quickly turned to a wide smile. "Ah! Miss Bones! Do come in!" She followed him into his office, forcing herself to slow her breathing.

"Now," he said, sitting down behind his desk and crossing his fingers. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Minister," she said her voice deceptively calm, "May I ask the meaning of these so-called 'half-breed restrictions'?"

"Ah!" he said, brightening. "You've seen them then! They were suggested by my new Senior Undersecretary, Dolores Umbridge. They will help in keeping Wizarding kind safe from those abominations!"

She forced her temper down. "Minister, those 'abominations' are people like you and me! At the very least, please exempt werewolves and centaurs and mermaids- they don't do any harm!"

His countenance turned stony. "No harm? Miss Bones, werewolf killings are up seven percent in the last year alone!"

"Minister, they do no one any harm at any time other than the full moon- why should they be prevented from jobs and marriage, along with all the other things on that list?"

"You're treading on thin ground, Miss Bones. I should think you want to keep your job, do you not? You want your niece to have someone to support her, pay her tuition?"

She sighed; she knew she was beaten. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Oh, did you receive your invitation for the annual Ministry Ball?"

"Yes, sir."

"I expect you to be there, with an escort."

"Yes, sir."

"You're excused, Miss Bones."

"Goodbye, sir," she gritted through her teeth, sweeping to her feet and exiting the room gracefully before striding angrily down the hall back to her office.

"Stupid hippogriff-herder..." she mumbled, before sighing and turning back to the unopened letter on her desk. With a wan smile, she opened it to read the words of the closest thing she had to a daughter.

"_Dear Aunty Amelia,_

_I'm having lots of fun. Uncle David and Auntie Anne are really nice; they like to play games with me. They got me a new dolly. I named her Amelia after you. They said I'm coming home in a week. I miss you lots!_

_Love Susan."_

She grinned, her eyes sparkling as she finished the letter and returned it to the envelope. It sounded like Susan was having a good time- she was glad. Susan had been rather lonely here, with her at work all day. She checked in her ox once more, as the delivery hour wasn't yet over; sure enough, another memo. Wonderful.

The Ministry boxes were very handy- if the sender put the box number on the letter, then the owl would deliver it to the Ministry Owlery and it would be sorted and magically transported to the box itself.

She sighed heavily and sat down to go through the memos. Yet another day as the Head of Magical Law Enforcement; yet another day that seemed to never end.

-----

Hermione smiled tiredly across the table at Harry, who winked back at her.

"Are you all right, Hermione?" Sirius asked, concerned. "You look exhausted."

"I got up in the middle of the night and had a bit of trouble falling back to sleep- nothing serious." Harry snorted and turned it into a cough.

'_Nothing serious indeed.'_

_.:Flashback : The Night Before:._

Hermione yawned and sat up in bed. She needed the restroom. Walking down the hall, she turned and knocked on the eighth door on the left. When no one answered, she opened the door and walked in sleepily.

Finished, and idly wondering why the water in the toilet seemed to be strawberry scented, she was on her way back to her room when something made her stop. It was an odd tingly feeling on the back of her neck, and for some reason she felt the need to go into Harry's room.

She opened the door gently in order not to wake Harry, and was mildly surprised when he was not in bed. That was when she noticed the open door in the wall. A slight frown creasing her forehead, she peeked her head in the door to see a darkened stair lit by a few torches. Slowly making her way down the stone steps and peered around the corner only to have her mouth drop in shock.

The far wall was covered with several huge bookcases, but instead of holding books they housed what appeared to be the potions holders featured in old films, cork stoppers and all. The rest of the room appeared to be several work tables, a wall of ingredients, and a load of simmering cauldrons. Harry was standing next to one, slowly pouring in a beaker of something black and shiny. _'What is this, a mad scientist lab?'_

She didn't realize she'd said it aloud until he whirled around, dropping a glass and shattering it on the floor. "Oh!" he said, his face frozen in shock. "Er… well… it kind of is…."

"What do you mean?" she asked, venturing further into the dark room.

"I…. kind of like to pretend I'm a mad scientist… I found this room on my own, and I brought in a bunch of herbs and stuff to pretend to use…. I didn't want Sirius and Remus to find out in case they didn't want me to play anymore…" She couldn't tell the way the lies fell easily from his tongue; it was as though he was telling the purest truth. She didn't know that he had once grown up in a time where telling the truth could easily lose you your life. She couldn't know.

"Why wouldn't they want you to play?" she asked, sounding confused.

He shrugged, looking embarrassed. "I dunno… I started playing this when I first came here, and I didn't really know them then… and then it just got to be sort of fun keeping it a secret…"

She considered for a moment before coming to a decision. "Can I play?"

He turned his startled eyes to hers. "I- I guess so. I don't see why not… I'll have to teach you how to play, though."

"Okay."

_.:End Flashback:._

That had been the start of a long night, learning the "properties" of things like "boomslang skin" and "basilisk venom". Harry had come up with all the names, he said, from things he'd read in fantasy books before. She believed him. She had no reason not to.

"Oh!" she suddenly said. "I meant to ask you, Sirius- why does the toilet smell like strawberries?"

Sirius snorted into his pudding, and it was Josie who answered. "His Great-Uncle Alphard was a bit… odd. He liked to practice spells that might be rather… frowned upon… by the Ministry. That's why you can do Underage Magic here, he made the wards so thick. You see, he had a dog that got in the way of one of his spells… or possibly more than one…" Sirius snorted again, and her lips twitched into a smile before she continued. "Anyways, the dog, in short, was extremely intelligent and had grown vocal cords. Webbed feet as well, but that's not the point. The point is, he told Alphard the toilet water tasted quite disgusting, so the man gave each toilet a different flavor."

"What happened to the dog?" Harry asked, curiosity piqued.

Josie shrugged and turned to Sirius. His godfather swallowed a bite before replying. "I dunno. He wasn't included in the will, so either he died or ran away. I have no idea."

"What was his name?" Hermione questioned.

Sirius chuckled. "Dog. Great-Uncle Alphard thought it to be very nice and to the point."

-----

The next week, Hermione's parents came home. Harry waved her off with a smile as she dragged her bag along behind her. "See you tomorrow!"

"You too!" she called back, before turning around and continuing on her way to her own house. When she reached the steps she lugged her bag up before knocking on the door.

Her mother swung it open. "Hermione!" she cried out, pulling her into a hug. "It's wonderful to see you dear." She picked up the bag easily and carried it in the door. Hermione followed, letting it swing shut behind her.

The older woman set down the bag and turned to her daughter. "So, how did it go? Did you have fun?"

Hermione nodded nervously. "Yes… er, I have something I need to talk to you and Dad about… Could we have a family meeting?"

Her mother's face had changed to one of worry, and she nodded. "Sure darling. I'll just go and get your father, and we'll meet you there… you go on ahead."

She nodded again and walked into the living room, sitting in her favorite chair and twisting her hands anxiously in her lap. A moment later, her parents came in, her father wincing slightly on his left leg. _'He probably banged it on the plane door like he did on their last trip…'_

"Now, what's this about, sweetie?" her mother asked.

"Um… well… you see, the thing is, I found out about something that I'm really technically not supposed to know about for a few years…"

Helena turned to Gregory and scowled. "See? I told you she knew!"

Her father winced. "You were right, you were right…" He looked over at Hermione. "So, is it a bit odd knowing your parents are spies for M16?"

Her mouth dropped. "You're _what_?"

There was a poignant silence for a minute before Gregory muttered "_I _was right." Helena laughed nervously.

"Er… sweetie… the thing is, your daddy and I aren't really dentists, as I'm sure you guessed from what your father just said… we were going to tell you when you turned ten. I suppose we will a bit early… We're spies. We mainly work in breaking up drug rings, tracking down terrorists, finding kidnap victims… that sort of thing."

And once again, Hermione felt like and idiot as everything began to make sense. "That's why you and daddy always has those bruises! And why you're always going on trips! And why you agreed to give Harry and I fencing lessons!"

Her father nodded slightly. "Yes, that's right. Ah… do you have any questions dear? If you do, just ask…"

Surprisingly, only one thing popped into her head. "Can I tell Harry?"

An awkward glance, and then- "Yes, you can tell him and Remus and Sirius. They cannot tell anyone though. Stress how important that is."

And then, one more question, that was more of a statement than anything. "Teach us."

-----

Her parents had been more than a little surprised to learn about magic, she mused. They had said, though, that in their line of work they had to get over surprises quickly, and had accepted it as soon as they had talked to Sirius and Remus and had the two demonstrate. They had arranged to go together to Diagon Alley on Valentine's Day, in an exact week. In the same meeting, they had revealed what her parents were to a stunned crowd, and Sirius and Remus had agreed to letting Harry have lessons.

She had been surprised; she had thought it would take arguments. But they had finally told her about the wizard that most called You-Know-Who, but that she had been told to call Voldemort; the wizard who had terrorized both worlds and been stopped by Harry. That had been a large shock, but it explained why they wanted him to be bale to defend himself; they didn't think the self-proclaimed Dark Lord was as dead as he seemed.

So the two of them were to have lessons, and Valentine's Day was fast approaching. In just a few weeks, it was time for her first real excursion into the Wizarding World. She and Harry had sent letters to the owner of Magikal Jewelry to get the necklaces for Remus and Sirius for Christmas, and she had never actually been inside a Wizarding shop, or near any other real wizards or witches, before, and she was rather nervous.

"It'll be fine, Mione," Harry assured her as she gripped his arm hard enough to crack it. "Really. It's just the Knight Bus, and then Diagon Alley."

As both were abnormally light for their age, Harry from Dursley abuse and Hermione from slinking off during meals to go read, they bounced in the seats as the bus popped to another location. Several people looked at them oddly, but they ignored them.

She bit her lip. "I know, I know. It's just… it will be my first time visiting other wizards, and I'll be getting a _wand_…" Her voice was filled with awe. "It's just so amazing!"

He laughed and poked her in the side. "It's the same for me too. Although I have been at a wizard's hearing before."

"Oh!" Hermione said. "Whose?"

"Mine," Sirius interjected shortly. "They had locked me away without a trial for something I didn't do, because it looked so much like I did. I was framed by a man named Peter Pettigrew, who everyone hailed as a hero… he's in jail now."

Hermione had her hands over her mouth. "Sirius, that's horrible! What about innocent until proven guilty?"

He gave a bark like laugh. "Apparently, they didn't care. Don't be surprised if people give us odd looks. Some still think me guilty, even though I'm not."

Before she could reply, the Knight Bus stopped once more. "Diagon Alley!" the conductor yelled out. She gulped.

They were there.

-----

Through a door that her parents couldn't see, past a pub that gaped on seeing Sirius and Harry, into an alleyway, a tapping of bricks and through what had been a wall… all to reveal a beautiful cobblestone streets lined with amazing shops. Hermione's mind was whirling. It was all a bit much. Sirius, Remus, and Josie led them down the street, receiving stares and silence, until they reached a small shop on a corner. In peeling letters was written the words "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 360 BC". The window was bare except for a dusty purple cushion holding a withered wand.

Nervously, she opened the door, the bell tinkling in the silence. A man with gray hair and shocking blue eyes stepped out from behind the shelves. "Ahh, hello," he murmured. "I am Mr. Ollivander, owner of this fine establishment. I am afraid I do not know your name…"

"This is our daughter, Hermione Granger," her father said, stepping forward. "We're- what was the word- Muggles actually, Hermione's a witch though. Luckily her friend Harry is a wizard and could tell her what was going on…"

The sharp eyes turned on Harry. "Ahh, Mr. Potter," he breathed. "I have been expecting you. I remember every wand I ever sold… your father's-"

Sirius interrupted. "I think," he said harshly, "That we are here to get their wands, not for stories."

Ollivander inclined his head. "Of course, Mr. Black. Let me just get my measuring tape…" As he ducked under his desk, he could be heard muttering "Yours was oak and threstral tail hair, I remember quite clearly… twelve inches…"

He popped up again. "Alright then, I'll do Miss Granger here first… Which is your wand arm?"

She looked confused. "Um… I can use both, but I favor my left…"

"Right… now, let's see…" The measuring tape unrolled itself and began to measure her. Ollivander nodded as it rolled up and returned to his hand. "All right, all right… let's see…" He took down a box and opened it. "Maple and unicorn tail hair, twelve inches… give it a wave!"

She uncertainty took it and waved it, shrieking and ducking as she exploded a vase. Ollivander shook his head. "No, no… hmm…" He took down another box. "Ash and Puffskein skin, ten and a quarter inches… here you go." Nervously, she waved it and boxes exploded out of the wall.

"I can see this will take a while."

After forty-seven minutes (Harry had counted) Ollivander got an odd look in his eyes. "I wonder…" he murmured. "Let me see…" Harry froze. This was all too similar to when he had gotten his wand the first time around… he realized suddenly that he had never asked Hermione if Ollivander had said anything special when picking out hers, and wished he had. It would have all made so much more sense if he already knew…

Ollivander had returned, carrying an old beaten box. He blew a layer of dust off the top before gently opening it and pulling out a wand. "Vinewood with an ash handle, werewolf fur-" everyone who knew turned to look at Remus, who frowned slightly and shrugged, as if to say he didn't care- "twelve and a quarter inches. Try it."

Tiredly, she picked it up and swished it to the left. She stared as a shower of red and gold sparks came out. Ollivander applauded. "Excellent, excellent! That will be three galleons…" Sirius pulled out the certificates and gave them to Ollivander, who looked them over before nodding and putting them in the register. "All right then… Mr. Potter next!"

And Harry stepped forward to face his judgement. He had never even considered before that he might not get the same wand as he had had before… he automatically answered Ollivander's questions as he was measured. In fact, he didn't snap back to himself until he had already waved nearly thirty wands and Ollivander looked at him with a crease in his forehead.

"Two in one day?" he whispered to himself, before stepping in the back again. Sirius turned to Remus and Sirius and shrugged. In a moment the old man was back, carrying another ancient, filthy box. He reverently opened it and held out what seemed to Harry to be a long-lost friend. He barely heard Ollivander as he said "Holly and phoenix feather, 11 inches…"

He could hardly contain his glee as he picked up the wand, and almost lovingly flicked it. He was so lost in glee that he almost didn't see the red and gold sparks, and barely heard Mr. Ollivander's whisper of "Curious…"

**A/N: **Special thanks to my best friend Meg, who shares the account with me, and Lionheart for the inspiration, especially on Amelia.

--Aerin


	8. Chapter Seven: Hyphenated

**Chapter Seven: Hyphenated**

_--"Percy wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy." Ron, GoF_

A week after what Harry had mentally dubbed "the wand incident", Sirius and Remus had taught he and Hermione several useful spells, including Evanesco, the Cleaning Charm, and Accio, the Summoning Charm. The fact that Harry already knew them only made it easer for him to "learn" them, which meant that he could help Hermione and they progressed to learning more spells more quickly.

Sirius and Remus suspected something, of that he had no doubt. It was in their eyes in the glances they shot at him, in the almost careful manner with which they talked to him, and in the way that after he had seen them whispering to Josie, she acted the same way. They would confront him soon, of that he was sure, and when they did, he would tell them. Whether they believed him or not, he would tell them.

He had been a bit to cavalier in keeping his identity a secret…. although he privately wondered if he had truly _wanted _them to know all the time. It would be nice to have someone to confide in, to be able to tell them to watch their backs… Warn them against people like Bellatrix Lestrange and the war that he had no doubt would soon be coming.

True, with Pettigrew in jail he wouldn't be able to resurrect his master… but people like Barty Crouch Jr. were still out there, and they would find a way, no matter what obstacles stood in their way. Maybe it would be his first year, maybe his fourth, maybe not until after he graduated… but the war was coming, and there was nothing that could be done to stop it. Nothing at all. The only thing he could do was try and protect his loved ones before it was too late.

Which explained why he was giving Hermione a charm bracelet for her seventh birthday, when it rolled around. It may be a long time to wait, but he could modify the bracelet a million times over until then. As of now there were three charms, each of them useful in their own way.

The first had been the most obvious edition, to his mind, after what had happened to her the first time around. It was a miniature Portkey, triggered by whatever command she decided to set it to, that would take her immediately to the emergency room of Saint Mungos. He wouldn't be able to bear it if it happened again this time; he knew he would never survive it if he lost her again. It was shaped like a tiny toad, to symbloze the time he first met her. Of course, he would have to tell her it was something else… but it didn't really matter. He knew what it was.

And as such, the second charm had been obvious after the first. It was another specialized Portkey that would take her where she needed to go whenever she needed to go there. Very useful thing; he had had one himself, the first time around, and was making himself one now in the inconspicous form of a friendship bracelet. He had no doubt that it would be one of the smartest things he had ever done. This charm was in the shape of a partway opened book; self explanatory.

The third charm, however, was different. It was a two-way tracking charm, one that would tell her where he was at a request and let him know where she was whenever he needed to. What would become the most useful charm on the bracelet, it was also the most innocent; a tiny Quaffle, the engraving a perfect rendering of Hermione's favorite Quidditch ball.

It had taken him a month just to do these three, and it would no doubt take much longer to do the other six. He had planned to end up with nine. Square numbers held power, and would help enhance the protection charms he had already woven into the band. He hoped Sirius and the others wouldn't notice the powers it contained when he gave it to her; that would raise awkward questions. Not that there wouldn't be awkward questions anyways…

He sighed and rubbed his forehead. It was a habit, ever since his first Fifth Year when the dreams had first appeared. He shuddered slightly remembering them, and was relieved they hadn't come back yet. At a knock on the door he hurriedly put the bracelet into a desk drawer, pulled out a drawing pad with a partially finished sketch and a pencil, and shouted "Come in!"

It was Sirius and Remus who entered, and Harry felt his heart sink. _Oh bloody hell. I was hoping I'd have a little more time before this happened… crap. _"Yes?" he asked innocently, looking at them curiously.

Sirius looked nervous, but Remus merely sat on Harry's bed, pulled out a wand, and pointed it at him, saying calmly "Something is very wrong here, Harry Potter- if that's even who you are."

The boy sighed. "I am, indeed, Harry James Potter, and as I have no way of proving it to you, you shalll simply have to take my word for it, as it is illegal to administer Veritaserum to minors." Remus' wand hadn't budged, and Harry sighed again. "You realize that if I was at full strength I could have had you disarmed the split-second you started to pull that out, lupine reflexes or no? As it is, I can disarm you within three seconds, that I'm sure of."

The werewolf snorted. "Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not! Just trying to get the point across- not that you'll believe me. Really though, could we put up some privacy wards? I don't want Hermione or Josie to have to hear this." Sirius sighed and erected the wards. "Thank you. Now, what do you want?"

"I want to know what the hell you are and what you've done to Harry Potter."

Despite himself, the boy smiled, even if it was a bit dark. "Straight to the point, aren't you? As I said before, I am indeed Harry Potter- but you obviously don't belive me. What caused this conversation, hmm?"

His werewolf friend shrugged. "You knew too much. Me being a werewolf, you knew what Muggles were… and then there was the whole wand thing. It was just suspicious. Sirius didn't agree with me really… barely agreed to come up here now. But I assume that now he can see someone is impersonating his godson…"

Harry laughed, full out laughed. "You really are determined on that theory, aren't you Moony? Very well then, I shall tell you my story, if only so you will stop accusing me of not being who I am. I don't suppose either of you have heard of the spell 'Averto Vicis'?"

Both shook their heads, and Sirius spoke up. "Directly translated, though, 'averto' would be 'turn back' or 'evade', and then 'vicis' is 'time'." Both Remus and Harry were startled.

"Thank you, Sirius. That makes things easier. You see, the spell is an ancient one, one few have the power to perform or have cast upon them. I do not mean to boast, but I am one of the few. I was nineteen when Albus Dumbledore performed the spell on me. He told me what it would do- send the subject back, at most, thirteen years, draining power from them- which would take time to replenish- more greatly with each one. I told him all thirteen, because I wasn't going to leave you in Azkaban for any longer than was necessary.

"The first time I was eleven, I was sent to Hogwarts. I had been living with the Dursleys until then, and they hated me. At Hogwarts, I made friends, and had an interesting encounter with a man named Quirrell and a Dark Lord thought dead…" And so Harry related his story to them, while Sirius sat wide eyed, and Remus looked impassive- though Harry could sense the turmoil on the werewolf's mind.

"And then came the final battle. And Voldemort killed Hermione… I tried to save her, and I failed." He knew his voice was dull, flat and emotionless, but he didn't care. "Voldemort and his Death Eaters escaped, and Dumbledore told me of another prophecy, and that the other Arch Mage had to be there for me to defeat Voldemort. He then told me Hermione was that Arch Mage, and of the spell. And I said yes, and here I am."

Both men were staring at him with wide eyes, and he knew why. Over the course of his tale, he had told them several things that only they would know… and unless he was telling the truth, it was impossible for him to. "Er…" he said when all had been quiet for several minutes. "That's all I've got to say, really…" The men he considered his father and uncle in all but blood both started and seemed to snap out of whatever sort of trance they'd been in.

"That… explains a lot," Remus said, and Sirius hugged him, and Harry was suddenly glad they had asked- for it was indeed very nice to have someone else to talk to about everything that he couldn't, wouldn't talk about with Hermione. After all, there was no way he could tell her, because then he would be lying to her unless he actualy told her that he loved her, and that would be a lot of weight to put on the shoulders of a six year old… perhaps once they were older, and if and when she fell in love with him without feeling obligated- perhaps then he would tell her. Yes, he would tell her then.

Of course, it would be more than ten years until that day came.

-----

Several years passed- five, to be exact. Hermione had loved the bracelet, and he had been extremely happy that he would now know if she was in danger. They had continued to learn spells and study, going through several years of Hogwarts material, and had excelled at Muggle school too, continuing on with fencing, martial arts of several different kinds, and many other forms of self-defense.

A few occasions of interest pop out over the others in those five years- the day Sirius proposed to Josie, the day they got married, and the day, about seven months ago, that Josie had announced she was pregnant. Whan Harry and Hermione had first snuck out to learn by observation street fighting, and many very well done pranks. All of the skills they had learned from Hermione's parents, and the interesting gadgets they had picked up along the way- things that were soont o be released to the open market, but for very expensive prices, they often got for free. her parents said it was a perk of being so good at what they did.

He and Hermione had often Flooed to Diagon Alley in the middle of the night to pick up books to read and study from. They each became trained in several areas of speciality- Harry insisted that they both learned at least mild skills in Healing, and continued pushing himself in that area when Hermione had long since decided she knew enough. Mechanics interested Hermione, and she began researching ways of binding Muggle and Magical technology.

She published a paper on the subject under the penname "Jane Peters"- her middle name and her mothers maiden name. That had been two years ago, when they were nine, and the academic community loved it. They had been waiting on edge for her to write another paper, and when she and Harry continued on and published much of their potions work (with Harry under the name of "James Orion", his father's name and his as-good-as father's middle name) they had gone wild. They hadn't yet completed the cure to lycanthropy- which Harry had revealed to her he was working on shortly after their paper was published- although they were confident it would happen soon.

And then, finally, came the day he had both been dreading and longing for the past five years. It was about nine in the morning, and Hermione had been staying with them for the past two weeks while her parents were away on yet another mission. They were all downstairs, eating breakfast and laughing as Josie balanced her plate on her stomach, when the owls came. There was silence for a moment before Sirius picked them up and handed them to their owners. "Well, open them," he said when they hadn't a moment later.

The two exchanged a look and then ripped them open. "Miss Hermione Granger, we are pleased to welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Hermione squealed, and Harry hugged her, saying that that was what his was too.

"I couldn't be prouder!" Sirius said with a wide grin. "What say we go to Florean's to celebrate! Might as well get your school supplies, too." And that was how Harry and Hermione found themselves in Madame Malkins, trying on school robes (on opposite sides of the store, naturally). And then came the encounter Harry was sure would happen after he checkked the date they received their letter- Draco Malfoy walked into the store.

The first time around, Draco had become a Death Eater before turning spy for them, much like Snape had. He had ended up going out with and eventually getting engaged to Ginny Weasley, and had become good friends with Harry, especially after Ron had betrayed them. He only hoped that this time around he could speed up the process a bit.

"Hello," the blonde said snootily. "Hogwarts too?" Harry merely nodded. "I'm Draco Malfoy." Looking dissapointed with Harry's lack of reaction, he said "You must be a Muggleborn, then." Mildly surprised that Draco hadn't used the 'm' word, Harry shook his head. "No?"

"No," he said softly. "I'm a half-blood, as my mum was a muggleborn, and I really don't see why on earth it matters."

"Why it matters?" Draco said, his eyes wide. "Muggleborns should never be allowed into our society! They- who are you, anyways?" he asked as Harry finished his fitting and stepped off the stool to leave. He turned around in the doorway and looked Draco in the eye.

"Harry. Harry Black-Potter." It was his legal name, after all- Sirius had adopted him four years ago, and after they had gotten married, Josie had become his adoptive mother. And it cetainly made for a look of priceless shock on the blonde's usually impeccable façade. _Maybe that'll give him something to think about… otherwise, our encounter on the train should do nicely. I'm assuming we'll have one…_

A slight frown creasing his forehead he sat next to Sirius, Remus, and Josie, who were waiting on him and Hermione. A moment later Hermione came out and the five set off to Flourish and Blotts.

-----

Hermione's parents had been thrilled when they came home to discover that their daughter had been invited to Hogwarts (Sirius and Remus had told them about it when they first discovered Hermione was a witch) and all too soon it was September First, the day they would catch the Hogwarts Express. After several long moments of tear-filled goodbyes at the stations and promises to write often, Harry and Hermione boarded the train, both (thankfully) able to lift their trunks due to a Feather-Light spell thoughtfully cast by Sirius.

They found a compartment together and sat down, beginning to chat. "What do you think it'll be like, Harry?"

"Probably just like in Hogwarts a History, 'Mione," he said, teasing. She laughed and punched him in the arm.

"Oh, shut it you!" And thus the great World War III of Tickles began. It was, a moment later, interrupted by a boy with olive brown sking and bright blue eyes. "Er, hello," Hermione said. "Who are you?"

"Blaise Zabini," he mumbled. "I was hoping this one is empty, seeing as everyone wants to kick me out…" Seeming to realize he was speaking aloud, he added "Damn it all," to the end.

Harry turned to Hermione with a raised eyebrow, and she inclined her head slightly. "You want to sit with us, Blaise Zabini?" It was the other boy's turn for wide eyes.

"Er… sure. Thanks." He lifted his trunk onto the shelf in the compartment and sat down. There were a few moments of awkward silence before Hermione spoke. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way." She and Blaise shook hands, and he turned to look at Harry.

"Harry Black-Potter," he said by way of introduction, shaking Blaise's hand. "Technically Black-DeLaney-Potter after my godparents got married, but it's a bit of a mouthful." Blaise's eyes were wide, and Harry snorted. "Oh please don't give me the 'I-am-in-shock-because-holy-crap-it's-the-grand-Harry-Potter-and-he's-talking-to-me' introduction. It's even worse than the 'it's-Harry-Potter-must-stammer-and-stutter-and-shake-hand-as-much-as-possible-before-he-disappears' one, really."

Hermione chuckled. "Oh Harry, back to the hyphens, are we?"

"But hyphens are so much fuuuun!" he whined. "If 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-For-Fear-Of-Cracking-Up-Laughing-At-The-Sheer-Stupidity-Of-His-Choice-Of-Name' gets to do it, why can't I?"

Hermione laughed again, shaking her head, and Blaise let out a small laugh, eyes wide. "I- um… what House do you want to be in?" he asked, obviously relieved to have found a topic to talk about.

Hermione and Harry looked at each other and then at Blaise, and said "Ravenclaw." Hermione elaborated. "We both love to study and read things… to learn. And Ravenclaw is supposed to be for the 'intelligent'- so we'd like to be there. What about you?"

He shrugged. "Well, all my family has been in Ravenclaw or Slytherin… they're not evil, you see, but they are cunning. I'm leaning more towards Ravenclaw myself, for the same reasons as you lot."

Harry nodded. "What's your best subject?" They didn't really notice as the train pulled out of the station; they were too intrigued with each other and talking. Harry vaguely wondered in the back of his mind why he had never befriended Blaise the first time around and shrugged the thought aside. It didn't really matter.

Part way through the ride, the compartment door opened to reveal two familiar faces. "Hello Gred, Forge," Harry said with a wave.

"Hello Harry, Hermione," the twins chorused in unison. They had met Harry and Hermione, their unofficial 'siblings', about four years ago when Josie had introduced them to her cousin Molly; since then, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione had gotten on fairly well. Harry and Hermione adored the twins, Bill, and Charlie, and were friends with Ginny to an extent, but neither could stand Ron and Percy.

Percy they disliked for obvious reasons, and Ron due to the fact that when they had first met him he had told his mother he didn't want to play wih "loser bookworms". That, and the fact that the first time around he had betrayed them all to Voldemort… yeah. Harry didn't want to befriend him anytime soon. Gred and Forge, however, were two of Harry and Hermione's best friends, and they were glad they had found their compartment.

"Come in and sit with us," Hermione invited. "This is our friend Blaise Zabini. Blaise, these are Fred and George Weasley, pranksters extraordinaire. Not that Harry and I couldn't give them a run for their money… we have, on several occasions." This caused Hermione and Fred to get into a glaring contest that dissolved into laughter.

"Nice to meet you, Blaise," George said, shaking the younger boy's hand. "Excuse my twin; he doesn't exactly have the best manners."

"I resent that," Fred said, pushing over to Blaise. "An honour to meet you, young sir." The twins sat down and the conversation turned into more of an evaluation of what professors to look out for and which to befriend. Snape was high on their 'must kill' list, apparently, and they told Harry and Co. to look out for him unless they were Slytherins, and especially if they were Gryffindors. They said that McGonnagal was strict but a sweetheart, and that Flitwick was always good for a laugh. Binns seemed boring, and Quirrell… Hermione said he sounded like no fun, and Harry agreed out loud, although privately he was plotting a way to 'discover' Quirrell's ways before too many bad things happened. And perhaps convince Remus out of early retirement before Dumbledore got the idea…

And then all too soon, the train stopped at the station, barely a moment after they had finished changing their robes. Still laughing they exited the train, after Fred and George had explained that their baggage would be taken care of. They parted ways at Hagrid's call of "Firs' years over here!", and promised to talk later. Until then, Harry felt a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach; he really didn't want to have to be Sorted again.

**AN: **So now they're at Hogwarts… next chapter will mention Susan Bones, and yes, Amelia plays a role in this story.

--Aerin


	9. Chapter Eight: Sorting

**Chapter Eight: Sorting**

_--"Oh you may not think I'm pretty, but don't judge on what you see; I'll eat myself if you can find a better hat than me." The Sorting Hat, PS/SS_

Harry sat in wait for the Sorting Ceremony, his face serene. Hermione was on his right, looking much the same as he did (as she had been told the stories of Josie, Sirius, and Remus' Sortings many times over), and Blaise was on his left, looking as scared as Harry had ever seen him in either timeline and trying his hardest to hide it. Which might work for someone who hadn't lived through a war with Voldemort and been sent back to do it all over again. At least this time there were twins but no Ron. That was a plus.

All too soon the ghosts flitted through the wall, and Harry idly had to wonder if they did that every year. He would have to ask around and find out. "Hello!" the Fat Friar said jovially, and Harry didn't miss the look of undisputable glee in his eyes. Even if it wasn't yearly, the ghosts certainly had fun with it. "Hope you get into Hufflepuff. My old House, you know."

Really for the first time, Harry noticed the Grey Lady. She was smiling slightly, and reminded him a bit of Hermione, with that sparkle in her eyes and her curly hair. She looked to be in her later twenties, and wore a long gown that seemed to be medieval. Harry opened his mouth to say something to her, but was interrupted as McGonagall opened the door.

"Follow me," she said briskly, and at her instructions they formed a line and did so. Harry could, despite himself, feel an anxiousness forming in his chest. He knew his guardians wouldn't care where he was Sorted; Josie had been in Slytherin, and they didn't mind. He could, actually, picture himself in any of the hosues, as long as Hermione was there.

Hannah Abbot was called first, and placed in Hufflepuff; no surprises there. Terry Boot moved to Ravenclaw; again, no shocks. And then it was his turn. He was grateful that his name had been legally changed; it meant that he'd have time to have a few words with the Hat before several people were Sorted.

Finally (the short moment of Terry being sorted seemed to take forever) McGonagall called his name ("Black-Potter, Harry!") and he rolled his eyes at the gasps and whispers that came with it. Some things never changed. "Just Black is fine, Professor," he said quietly. He and Sirius had spoken about that, when Harry had realized how odd it would be for Snape to yell "Black-Potter! Detention!" It just didn't sound quite right. He stepped forward and put the Hat on his head.

_Well, hello again_ _Mister Black-Potter. It's been quite a long time since something like this has happened. First a Gryffindor, I see… you still very much fit that description. Of course you now much more fit the description of Ravenclaw, as you've realized yourself. Very loyal… you'd do well in Hufflepuff. And one of the most cunning people I've had the pleasure of meeting… Slytherin would fit you perfectly as well. So, Mr. Potter, I suppose it is, truly, your decision._

_I have a few favours, _he thought uncertainly. _I don't suppose…_

_Tell me what they are and I'll see what I can do._

Harry mentally sighed. _Thanks. First off if you could look at Ronald Weasley and not just typecast him as a Weasley Gryffindor, that would be good. Also, look carefully at Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini. And I would like to be a Ravenclaw, if you don't mind._

_Very well. _RAVENCLAW! _it is then. Good luck, Mr. Black-Potter. You will certainly need it. _Harry mentally nodded at the Hat before taking it off and walked towards the Ravenclaw table. They, just as he suspected, were clapping politely, not cheering wildly as the Weasley twins had the first time around- and this time, as a matter of fact. Harry playfully rolled his eyes at his adopted cousins before sitting at the end of the table.

"Cho Chang," the girl he had once had a crush on said, holding out her hand for him to shake. He did so. "Second year. It's nice to meet you."

"You as well," he said politely with a nod before turning back to the Sorting ceremony. "Brocklehurst, Mandy!" was called next, and a girl he had never really met stepped forward to sit daintily on the stool. She had dark blonde hair and brown eyes, he managed to note before the Hat slid down over about half her head. She was a bit shorter than Hermione, but they were built in much the same dainty way, and he found himself noting that she would likely make a fair chaser. A moment later the Hat called out "RAVENCLAW!" and he clapped politely as she walked towards him.

She slid in next to him on the bench and it was his turn to offer a greeting. "Hello. I'm Harry Black," he said calmly, holding out a hand, which she took. "Pleasure to meet you."

"You as well. It was all over the Prophet that you were coming to Hogwarts this year, you know." She seemed mildly amused, even more so as he made a face of disgust.

"Oh, I know. Ticked me off, really. I mean, for one thing they weren't even really talking about me, just about Sirius, Remus, and Josie. Speculating over whether I'd be a Gryffindor or a Slytherin… glad to have showed them up. I mean, it's realy none of their business, yeah?" She nodded and laughed slightly. He smiled at her before once again watching the line of students, right as Hermione was called.

"Granger, Hermione!" Slightly nervous but just as composed as Blaise had been in the side room, Hermione stepped forward and elegantly sat, setting the Hat on (and involuntarily over) her head. Crossing his fingers, Harry watched her anxiously. She wrinkled her nose a little, and began to tap her foot. He smothered a laugh. _Same old Hermione._

It was a tense moment later that the Hat called "RAVENCLAW!" Harry clapped loudly as Hermione set the Hat on the stool and strode down to the table, sliding in next to him and giving him a high five.

"Hermione, this is Mandy Brocklehurst; as I'm sure you, with your excellent cognitive skills, remember, she's a First Year as well. Mandy, this is my best friend Hermione Granger." Hermione chuckled slightly at his banter and reached across him to shake hands with Mandy.

"Great to meet you, Mandy."

"You as well. Are you Muggleborn too, then?"

"Yes, but I live across the street from Harry and I found out about magic when I was six…" And that was all it took for a full fledged discussion about the Wizarding World compared to the Muggle one to break out. He shook his head, and, wondering why he had never really talked to Mandy the first time around, looked up as "Greengrass, Daphne!" was sorted into Slytherin, smirking and sitting next to Millicent Bulstrode. Seamus, he noted, had gone to Gryffindor again.

Soon enough, it was Draco's Sorting. Harry unconsciously held his breath as the silver-haired boy sat haughtily on the stool. Once again, he found himself wondering if Draco was albino. Pushing the thought away, he eagerly watched Draco's face to search for any idea of what was happening. The blonde suddenly curled his lip before looking absolutely horrified, and Harry gathered that the Hat had suggested Hufflepuff. It made sense; Draco was one of the most loyal people Harry had ever met, although he could understand that at the current moment Draco had not yet begun to doubt his father's words.

Draco sat on the stool for another moment more; his expressions rapidly changing from horror to hope to despair and back again. It was, all in all, a very interesting display to watch. And then, at last, to the absolute shock of the Hall, the Hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. The blond put the Hat on the stool looking more disgusted than Harry had ever seen him, and whispered something unintelligible to McGonagall. He could almost hear the words echo from his memory; _"My father will hear about this."_

He stormed towards the red and gold table which began to applaud slightly, and McGonagall, looking very shaken, called out "Moon, Tanya!" A short, slightly dumpy girl sat on the stool, and in short order was taken to Ravenclaw. The Patil twins were split as they had been, Dean Thomas went to Gryffindor, and everything was once more going as normal until the list reached Ronald Weasley. Harry felt his lip curl as it always did at the name of the traitor but ignored it as he felt Snape's gaze on the back of his neck. Hurriedly checking his mental shields to make sure they would hold, he turned back to look at Ron Weasley.

His expression nearly mirrored Draco's, and Harry mentally snorted at the idea of the cornia Ron would have if he told him that. Where would Ron go? There was no chance of Hufflepuff, with the ability for betrayal Ron had in him. And there was no chance of him going into Ravenclaw; the first time around, he had cheated off Hermione throughout all of their schooling. Gryffindor was, as much as Harry hated to admit it, a possibility, as Ron had been brave (or stupid) enough to face him and tell him what he'd done. And Slytherin would fit him, as it would have taken much cunning to betray Harry without him realizing it. Apparently the Hat had reached much the same conclusions as Harry himself, as the next word it spoke was "GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry nodded slightly; he could not say he was surprised. Even as Ron hurried down to the table to sit with his brothers, Harry's mind was whirling. It made sense; the Hat could not judge alone on what Ron had originally turned out to be. At the moment, he fit Gryffindor perfectly. Maybe Ron would end up betraying them; maybe he wouldn't. But either way, things were as they were meant to be.

The last student at the Sorting was Blaise. The dark haired boy nervously sat on the stool, and seemed to be waging an internal battle with himself. Harry turned to Hermione, who shrugged as if to say 'who knows where he'll go?' He turned back to the Hat just as it shouted "RAVENCLAW!" Grinning broadly Harry applauded, as did Hermione.

Blaise, beaming, nearly ran down to sit with them, and Harry scooted closer to Hermione to make room for the boy on the bench. "Congrats!" he said happily. "We'll be in the same dorm!"

The other boy smiled wilder. "I know! I can't wait to write my parents; Mum will be quite pleased as she was in Ravenclaw herself. Father thought I'd be a Slytherin, but he won't mind; my elder sister was in Hufflepuff, and if that didn't bother him, this won't."

Harry nodded in acceptance as Albus Dumbledore rose. "Hello and welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before we begin to eat, I have a few short words, and here they are: Ntiwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you." The Hall burst into noise as food appeared, and Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and rolled their eyes. They knew all too well what Albus Dumbledore was like.

Blaise turned to Harry. "Bit mad then, isn't he?"

Harry chuckled. "Seems so. Then again, you could argue everyone's a bit mad, in their own ways." His new friend shrugged and little else was said as they ate. At the end of the feast the same speech as Harry remembered was delivered by Dumbledore, and ignoring the stares of Snape and the conversations between Mandy, Blaise, and Hermione, he found his dormitory as quickly as he could and fell into bed, asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

-----

_.:DREAM SEQUENCE:._

"_Sirius!" he shouts as his godfather falls behind the Veil. "Sirius! He's only just gone through!"_

"_There's nothing you can do Harry. Nothing you can do Harry. Nothing you can do Harry. Nothing you can do…"_

_He's facing the troll and watches in horror as it smashes the stall Hermione had just been crying in. A second earlier, he realizes, and it would have smashed her._

_He's in the Chamber. He's dying, and he knows it. He idly wonders if Hermione will miss him. Will she even care that he's gone? Fawkes crys on his arm, and forgetting his thoughts he meets the eys of Tom Riddle._

_He watches Hermione collapse as they fight the Dementors. She can't die. She can't. He can't lose her, and he knows it. He uses all the strength he has to try and saves her, and then collapses into a heap, seeing a glimpse of a familiar figure before all goes black._

_It's after the Third Task. He realizes he can see her in the crowd, teary-eyes, horrified, and anxious. She's scared for him, he realizes vaguel, even more scared than she is that Voldemort is back, that he's just said it, that Cedric Diggory is dead- what she's afraid of is that he might follow. And he can't do anything to reassure her._

_He watches her fall in the Department of Mysteries. She's dead, and it's all his fault. He feels tears behind his eyes. "Hermione!" he calls. She can't be…. no. Neville finds a pulse, and he breathes again. She's alive._

_Dumbledore has died, and she says she's going to come with him. He feels an odd sense of pride at her determination, and fear that he might lose her again. He couldn't bear it if he lost her again. If he loses her, he'll lose himself…_

_They find the Horcruxes slowly, one by one- and then Dumbledore's information is wrong. It isn't just the Horcruxes keeping him alive. There are even darker spells at work, and once again he finds himself fretting for her life._

_They find Dumbledore alive; he's been alive all along, hiding, helping from the shadows so no one knows. He's mad at first, but eventually he forgives the old man. Snape, too. He knew Dumbledore would live; he'd only been keeping with appearances. With the old man's help, they begin to do slightly better in the war._

_Ron betrays them. In a battle, he pputs the Cruciatus on Hermione. He thinks it's the Imperius at first, but his once best friend reveals his betrayal and goes to join his Master as the coward runs. He cradles Hermione in his arms, despair and shock coarsing through him. They've been deceived, so many times over._

_He finds that Ginny is ginny Malfoy now, and it doesn't hurt somehow. He has come to terms that he did love her once, but now he finds, to his surprise, that he feels nothing. He loves her no longer, and he congratulates Draco at finding happiness. They're surprised, but the blessing is not unwelcome. They've not received enough of it._

_The Final Battle comes. He Stuns Ron, finding himself unable to kill his once-best friend, even with all he's become. And then he hears Hermione's screams and runs towards her as fast as he can. As he cradles her dying body, a corner of his mind acknowledges just hom much he loves her, and he begs her to stay… but she does not listen. In his arms, she dies… He is alone once more._

_He screams._

_.:END DREAM SEQUENCE:._

Harry sat up in bed, sweat coating his face. Only long experience in the realm of nightmares kept him from screaming out as his dream self had. The worst part was that it was all true, had all happened. He could not push it to the back of his mind and say it was just a dream; it was memories. Memories, he vowed, that would be changed.

The next day he went down to breakfast early to find that Hermione was one of the few alreacdy there. He grinned wryly; he should have known. She always had been an early riser. "Hey 'Mione," he said, sliding into the seat next to her.

"Bad dream?" she asked sympathetically. He sighed and shook his head, but he was smiling slightly. She could always tell, although she was under the impression that they were only about the Dursley's.

"Yeah. Got back to sleep though, so I'm fine." They had established long ago that if Harry slept again after his nightmares he would be alright during the day, but if he had to stay awake they would haunt him throughout it.

She nodded, still looking rather worried. "Alright then, if you're sure…" He smiled at her and she conceded with a sigh. "Right then." Changing the topic, she spoke again. "I can't wait until class starts!"

He raised an eyebrow. "You do realize we kknow the entire curriculum of all these classes," he mumbled under his breath. She blushed.

"Well, yes… but it will still be great to be in classes again! I love school!"

Harry chuckled. "I know. And you know I do too, when the teachers aren't like Mr. Anders…" They both shuddered. Mr. Anders had been their last teacher in primary school. He had basically yelled at the class for no apparent reason and sat in his chair, reading, have the class work on whatever they chose. He told them there was no such thing as a stupid question, but whenever people would ask him one, he would tell them it was stupid. He was a hypocrite, and a horrible teacher.

Before Hermione had a chance to respond the breakfast bell rang and the rest of the school began to file in. She shot an amused glance at Harry when she saw just how tired the rest of the school seemed. He chuckled. Over the years he had become steadily a more morning person, and the concept of not being awake in the morning now seemed almost foreign to him… excepting the fact that Sirius was his godfather.

Blaise came over with a yawn and sat next to them. "Hello," he managed before yawning again. Mandy was the next to joint them; she didn't even bother saying anything, just put some eggs on her plate and started to eat, rubbing at her eyes every so often.

A few minutes into breakfast McGonagall arrived and gave them their timetables; today was Charms, History of Magic, and Potions. And he was actually looking forward to the last class for the first time he could remember. The first time around he had slowly become very good at Potions, and he had kept working at the skill this time around. He could now understand what Snape had meant by "the beauty of a simmering cauldron", because in that cauldron could be so very many things that could help the world…

He again felt a tingle at the back of his mind and checked his shields once more to make sure nothing was available. He mentally scowled, but was careful to not show his irritation outwardly. What right did the Headmaster have to go looking in his head? Probably trying to see what kind of guardians Sirius and Josie were and get rid of them so he could live at the Dursleys' for his "own protection".

He forced himself not to think that way. By the end the first time around Dumbledore had become a vauled, if not trusted, ally, even if the man had been a meddlesome bastard at first. So he would give the Headmaster time, and see how things turned out… perhaps they would be better, and perhaps worse. Who knew?

All that mattered was that he now had a chance to change things… a chance he gladly seized.

**AN: **Before anyone kills me for putting Ron in Gryffindor:

Even if his bravery was for the wrong reasons, he had to be very brave to betray Harry (although that's really not a good kind of bravery, is it?) Also, as Josie would complain, evil "isn't in the job description" for Slytheirn, and Hagrid was wrong in saying every Dark Wizard came out of their House (what about Pettigrew?). And Hufflepuff isn't for the weak minded; while blind trust is often a falling, Hufflepuffs are just trustworthy, not people who trust blindly. As such, Ron is in Gryffindor, but the Hat has given him much to think about and we'll see what happens now.

**Aerin**


	10. Chapter Nine: Three Words

**Chapter Nine: Three Words**

_--"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon, Ronald, doesn't mean we all have!" Hermione, Prisoner of Azkaban_

Nothing exciting happened in Charms with the Hufflepuffs; they covered the Wingardium Leviosa charm and Harry, Hermione, and Mandy were the only three that managed it, though Blaise came fairly close (his feather hovered for a moment before exploding in a shower of soot). Now they were on their way to Potions, and Harry could feel his stomach clenching in anticipation and fear. What would Snape be like, this time around? Could he convince him sooner that he wasn't his father, or would he pay the price for living with Sirius?

His musings were cut short as they reached the dungeons and slipped into Snape's classroom, Harry sitting with Hermione and Blaise with Mandy. A few moments later, the door was slammed open by the Potions professor as he stormed down the aisles, his cloak billowing behind him. Harry couldn't help but admire his style. It took a lot of work to pull of a sweeping cloak like that; it had taken Harry years to perfect the ominous bat-like swooping that seemed to come so naturally to the Potions Master. Snape went to the front of the room and directed a sneer to the class.

He began to take roll, and the similarities to the last time around nearly made Harry roll his eyes; he restrained himself in time, however.

"Ah, Mr. Black," he said slowly. "Our new… celebrity." He sneered and finished the roll call before speaking again. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic." This time around, Harry caught the flicker of loneliness that passed through Snape's black eyes.

"I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with it's shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that can creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

There was, once again, a moment of silence, and Harry could see Hermione glance over at him with a slightly raised eyebrow. _Yes, Hermione, that's verbal abuse, _Harry thought to himself._ But in all fairness, he has an image to maintain if he wants to live. _And then came the moment Harry had been waiting for.

"Potter!" Snape snapped. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of the Living Death, sir," Harry said calmly, though he mentally smirked at the brief look of surprise on Snape's face before it returned to a stormy mask.

"And where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"The stomach of a goat, sir," Harry replied. He took some pleasure in watching Snape's face tighten and his lips press together to form a white line.

"I see. And what, Black, is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They're the same plant, sir."

It was a standoff as the two stared at each other. Finally, Snape buckled. "And what are the rest of you doing? Copy that down!" Harry smiled to himself as the lesson continued. Yes, this was going to be a good day.

Indeed it was. He decided that classes were much better being in Ravenclaw, if only because the Ravenclaws didn't have a rivalry with the Hufflepuffs like the Gryffindors and Slytherins did with each other. A thought occurred to him—how had the Gryffindor-Slytherin rivalry started? With the Founders themselves, or something later?

He shrugged: a topic to think about another day. For now, however, he was preoccupied with lunch, and talking to Hermione, Blaise, and Mandy. Why hadn't he befriended Blaise and Mandy last time? They seemed to be very interesting to be around, as far as he could tell in one day. So what side had they chosen then, and what side would they chose now?

Looking around, he noticed Draco sitting alone at the Gryffindor table. A stab of pity hit him. After Ron's betrayal, Draco had been one of his best friends (excepting, of course, Hermione, who had had been with near constantly), and he would hate it if that could not happen here. He turned to talk to Hermione.

"Hey, Mi," he muttered. "Take a look at Draco Malfoy. Should we ask him to sit with us?" She craned her head and watched Draco for a moment.

"Yeah," she said quietly, with a nod. "I think that's be a good idea. We should invite Gred and Forge too."

"And Neville and Susan?" Harry questioned. "You remember, he came to visit with his Grandmother once. He looks pretty lonely too. And we can tease Susan about Amelia and Remus." At her nod and smile, they stood up and walked to the Gryffindor table. "Hey Gred, Forge," Harry said calmly. "You guys want to sit with us?"

The twins nodded. "Sure Harry."

"We'd love to."

"You're sitting with—"

"Blaise Zabini and Mandy Brocklehurst—"

"Right?"

"Yes," Hermione said. "We're going to invite a few other people too. Like Malfoy, unless you have a problem with that."

The twins glanced over at Malfoy and in unison shook their heads. "Not unless—"

"He insults our family.

"The kid looks lonely."

"We'll see you at the table, alright?"

Without waiting for a response, the twins headed to the Ravenclaw table, where they introduced themselves to Blaise and Mandy. The whispers in the Hall started. Neville was the next stop. Harry and Hermione moved down the Gryffindor table and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey Nev," Harry said cheerfully. "Your Grandmother brought you over to meet me, remember? This is Hermione; she was there then too. She lives across the street from me."

"Er… hello," Neville said rather awkwardly. He shook their outstretched hands. "Why…"

"We wondered if you'd like to sit with us," Hermione supplied. "Over at the Ravenclaw table, with Blaise, Mandy, Gr-George and Fred?"

A tentative smile lit his face. "R-really?" At Hermione's nod, the smile widened. "That would be great. Should I just…"

Harry nodded. "Just go over and sit down. We'll be right back; there's another person we want to invite." Neville nodded slightly, still looking confused and shocked, and headed over to where the twins were waving maniacally.

"Two more stops," Harry murmured to himself. This one, he knew, would be the hardest. At this point, in the other timeline at least, Malfoy had still hated his guts. With a heavy sigh, Harry walked to the end of the Gryffindr table, Hermione at his heels. The whispers in the Hall had become normal voices by now, and everyone was pondering why the hell Harry Potter was doing this, from what he could gather. He smiled grimly.

Everything turned silent when he stopped in front of Draco Malfoy. The boy slowly raised his head to look at him, mustering a glare with no real feeling behind it. "What do you want?" he spat.

"Sit with us?" Harry asked simply. The blond gaped at him for a moment, before remembering who he was and sneering.

"With a half-blood and a muggleborn? I don't think so."

Hermione frowned slightly, but Harry put his hand on her arm. "Is that you talking, or your father? We invited you over because we thought you looked lonely. If you're not, that's fine." He leaned in closer, so that no one else could hear his words. "But just remember that a single choice can change your life forever. Do you want to sit here all alone every day for seven years?"

Withotu waiting for a response, Harry led Hermione oover to the Hufflepuff table, where they gathered Susan and invited her to eat with them. She agreed with a bright smile; the three of them had bonded when Remus and her aunt, Amelia, had started going out.

They walked back towards the Ravenclaw table and sat with the others, who looked at them questioningly. As Hermione leaned forward to explain what had happened, Harry drifted off in thought. He hadn't thought that Draco would take him up on his offer so quickly… he was still under the influence of his father now. He would have been surprised, in fact, if the boy had.

Still, it would have been nice to be friends with his best male friend again, to give him some semblance of what had once been normality. Then again, there was no normality where he was concerned. The first time around, Hermione had declared that laws of space and time decided he wasn't worth bothering with and ignored him. It made for very interesting days, however.

Lunch was a pleasant affair. Fred and George spoke about their previous pranks, and the group could barely speak for laughing. Neville was smiling wider than Harry had ever seen him smile before, and Hermione, Mandy, and Susan were giggling about something while Blaise drank ungodly amounts of coffee.

The next few days went much in the same way; the group began to have a well-defined place at the end of the Ravenclaw table, and were bonding much more fully. And then came the flying lesson.

It started out like any other day. Harry and Hermione were both at ease after years of flying, Harry with his knowledge from the first time around and Hermione with all the tricks he'd taught her. Blaise had been flying for the past year, when his mother had finally allowed it, and was fairly confident in his skills, but Mandy had never flown before.

"What if I fall off my broom?" she asked anxiously. "Or what if I can't get on it at all! Or I run into a wall? Oh, what am I going to do!" She buried her head in her arms. Hermione patted her back.

"It'll be alright, Mandy. You'll see. Flying is… it's amazing. There's no other way to describe it. You'll love it, and you'll be fine at it. I didn't think I'd really like it either, but it's incredible."

Mandy sighed. "If you say so. Hermione. I guess I'll just have to wait and see."

Susan smiled at her. "I agree with Hermione, Mandy; you'll love it."

The lesson was to be held at two in the afternoon. The group of them trudged outside to join several other first year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. At two on the dot, Madam Hooch showed up and blew her whistle. "Right!" she snapped. "Everyone stand next to a broom." Once this order had been completed she continued.

"You lot better all listen to me; I've had a bad enough time with the Gryffindors and Slytherins. What Weasley was thinking, I'll never… So no funny business! Now, stick your hand out over the broom, and say 'up'!" The group, rather intimidated, followed her instructions. "Mount up." She spent a moment correcting people's stances before continuing. "When I say three, you will get off the ground by kicking off. To go up, lean back. Down, forwards. Right is right, left is left. One, two, three!"

The group kicked off as one. Harry and Hermione immediately went into a series of loops and dives, loving the feeling of freedom in flight. Blaise and Susan zipped around, and Mandy cautiously maneuvered, relaxing after a moment to enjoy herself.

Everything happened at once. Justin let out a yelp as he dropped his glasses; he hadn't seemed at all comfortable fromm the beginning, and Harry dreaded what would happen if he couldn't see. He went into a controlled dive to get them, ignoring Hooch's sharp whistle.

At the same moment, Hermione accidently bumped into Hannah Aboot, who was having a hard enough time as it was. "Sorry!" she exclaimed, grabbing Hannah's arm to help her regain her balance. Hannah glared at her.

"Why you little…" The blonde looked aroound and spooted an apple tree a bit of a ways away. She flew over as quickly as she could, while Hermione turned slightly, not suspecting that there was an apple being thrown at her head until she saw the flash of red in the corner of her eye. She flicked her wrist up to catch it, and did so easily, dropping it to the ground and turning to Hannah. She opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped as she felt her broom being dragged to the ground.

Hooch was standing there, tapping her foot, her wand held up to use the Summoning Charm. "You two!" she snapped. "We are going to see Flitwick right now!" Hermione looked over to see Harry next to her, who'd just handed a grateful Justin his glasses. The exchanged a grimace before following the extremmely irritated flying teacher.

'_This can't be good,' _they unknnowingly thought at the same time.

**-----**

Nymphadora Tonks sighed and ran a hand through short spiky hair that today was a bright shade of blue. "I made it," she muirmured in astonishment before letting out a whoop of joy. "I MADE it! I've got to tell Sirius!" With a pop, she'd Apparated away to her cousin's house.

She'd bonded with Sirius when she was fifteen, and her mother had been forced to leave her with him over the summer while she and her father went to India. She had met Remus Lupin, apparently one of Sirius' old friends, and his new wife, Josie, to whom he'd apparently been engaged before Azkaban. She'd also met his godson, the famous Harry Potter (who was by then known as Harry Black-Potter and was Sirius and Josie's child in all but blood) and his best friend, Hermione Granger. The two seemed inseperable, much like she and Charlie had been.

After that summer, she had immediately decided that Sirius was her coolest relative ever, and he told her that his house was always open to her. After her father died when she was sixteen, two years ago, and she and her mother's spats had gotten all the more constant, she often spent her vacations at the house. She had also bonded with Harry and Hermione; they loved to joke and call her "Aunt Nymphie". Surprisingly enough, she didn't mind; they were just too cute. She had been at the Platform to see them off and wish them a good year, and promised them that they'd spend the summer together.

"Sirus! Josie! Remus!" she shrieked, popping into the kitchen. "I made it!" There was the sound of pounding footsteps, and Sirius and Josie both rushed in a moment later. Sirius pulled her into a tight hug, laughing, exclaiming about how she was stalking him at work now too, and his pregnant wife hugged her as well once Sirius had let go.

"Congratulations!" Josie exclaimed. "Remus would say so too, but he's on a _date_. With none other than _Amelia Bones_."

Tonks laughed. "Head of the Auror Department! That's grand. Tell him I say congratulations to him!"

"Why don't we go out for dinner?" Sirius suggested. "Just the three of us, in honor of Tonks?" The others agreed, and soon they were in the car, driving over to some fancy restaurant the name of which Tonks couldn't pronounce.

"Oh, did you hear?" Sirius said after a moment. "Harry and Hermione both got Ravenclaw!"

"Really?" Tonks said. "I'll have to write them and congratulate them. I was almost in Ravenclaw myself, you know."

"They'd love that," Josie said with a smile.

-----

Remus Lupin and Amelia Bones had met five years ago, at a rally a few days after the Werewolf Restrictions were passed. It was held at Diagon Alley, in front of the Ministry Representative building. She'd been holding a sign that read "Not so fun to be around three days of the month either", and her curly blonde hair ahd been held in a ponytail with a few loose strands here and there. She wore jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt, and he'd thought she was amazing.

She'd been yelling, along with the rest of the crowd, at the building, and when someone had shuffled their bags around a rather handsome man been shoved into her. She'd turned, her angry expression fading slightly, and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Sorry," he said apologetically. "The crowd moved." She noticed vaguey that he has rather shaggy sandy brown hair and beautiful brown eyes.

She smiled. "That's alright," she said. And then, on the spur of the moment, she added "I'm Amelia Bones, Head of the Auror Department."

He smiled lightly, though he looked surprised that she was there. "I'm Remus Lupin. Would it be presumptous to ask why you're here?"

She shook her head and laughed. "No, it wouldn't. I tried to get Fudge to listen to me directly about these stupid laws, but he wouldn't, so I'm doing all I can on my own. You?"

"I'm… I'm a werewolf," he said with a shrug. "Actually, I think I went to Hogwarts with you. I believe I was a Seventh Year when you were Fifth… I was in Gryffindor. You were in Ravenclaw, correct?"

She nodded. "Right. I think I remember you too, now that you mention it. How have you been?"

He sighed. "Alright, for the most part. Shuffling from job to job isn't the best. You?"

Amelia shrugged. "I've been alright. I've been taking care of my niece, Susan. Her mother was my sister, and she and her husband were killed on vacation by Death Eaters about a year before he fell."

He nodded. "I've been living with Sirius Black, his fiancee Josie DeLaney, and his godson Harry. They're actually planning on getting married and adopting Harry. His best friend Hermione lives across the street—actually, she practically lives at the house too. She has her own room there."

She smiled. "That's good. I'm glad their can be some good in their lives. I remember Josie. She helped me with my homework a few times." There was a comfortable silence between the two for a few moments while the rally continued. "Hey," she finally said as an idea struck her. "I have to attend a _stupid _Ministry ball, and I can't think of a better way to piss them off than by going with a werewolf. And we can catch up some more on old times. What do you say?"

"Sure," Remus said, smiling. "When should I pick you up?

-----

They were in the middle of dinner when her favorite cousin asked THE question. "So," Sirius asked, taking a sip of his drink. "How are things with Charlie?"

Tonks froze up, and there was a moment's silence. "Well," she said, stirring her tea, unable to look at her companions. "He- I mean, we've decided, that… since he's going to be in Romania with the dragons, and I really wanted to stay here… I mean, we thought it would be better if we just… stayed friends."

"I'm so sorry," Josie said, patting her on the arm. "That's horrid of him." Sirius nodded.

Tonks sighed. "Maybe it really is beter this way. Maybe it would have never worked out at all. I just… well, I've had a crush on him forever, and I really thought I was falling in love. Guess I was wrong. I guess… Maybe we were never meant to be." She suddenly felt more uncomfortable than she ever had before. "Thanks for dinner, you guys. I really should get going. See you later, alright?"

Without an answer, she got up, putting her part of the bill down on the table before she left. She missed Charlie horribly, even if he'd only left for Romania a month ago. She had been so _sure_ he was the _one_, the perfect guy for her. He was sweet, and funny, and she thought of Molly and Arthur like a second set of parents. His brothers and sister were great too, especially Fred and George, who rather reminded her of herself.

She'd had a crush on him since second year, but she hadn't thought that he'd ever think of her as more than a friend. And then, his ears horribly bright red, he'd askked her to Hogsmeade. She's immediately agreed, and a relationship had begun to bloom in the beginning of their Seventh Year.

_Well, that had been nipped in the bud, _she thought bitterly. She knew she was in love with him, but now she realised that he'd never love her back. To hell with it. It had been some time since the break-up, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. Now, with a wave of depression, she knew she never would.

"Throw myself into school," she mumbled. "Maybe I can distract myself. That'd be nice." Who was she trying to kid? She was in love with Charlie Weasley, and she always would be, no matter how much she wanted to stop.

-----

"Professor Snape?" Flitwick asked squeakily. "May I borrow Davies, please?" Harry and Hermione turned to each other in confusion. Snape scowled.

"Feel free to remove his ignorance from my class. Out, Davies." A tall, brown-haired young man stepped out of Snape's room and the door shut behind him.

"What is it, Professor?" he asked, sounding confused.

"I've found you Seeker and a Chaser!" Flitwick squealed. "I know you've been looking since Denise MacDougal and Mallory Zabini left. This is Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, by the way. Apparently they've been flying for five years. Young Mr. Finch-Fletchley dropped his glasses while he was flying, and Mr. Potter executed a spectacular dive to catch them. At the same time, Miss Hannah Abbot threw an apple at Miss Granger, and she caught it easily."

Davies was barely paying attention to what Flitwick was saying. "Perfect build," he murmured, looking at Harry. "I was thinking about Chang, but if we can bend the rules, Potter'd have an extra year, and Chang's not very fast anyways…" He looked over at Hermione. "Similar build to Mallory, actually, and Mallory was incredible…" His eyes snapped to Flitwick. "Do you think Dumbledore will allow it?"

"I'm sure we can convince him! Besides, we have to win the Cup this year! We haven't won in twenty years!"

Davies winced, and turned back to the two fist years. "D'you two have brooms?" he questioned.

Hermione nodded. "Nimbus 2000's," she said with a smile. They'd been a present from Sirius for getting their Hogwarts letters.

"Really?" Davies asked, his eyes wide. "Professor, we NEED this kids! Get your parents to send the brooms as soon as Flitwick gives the okay, alright? Practices start next week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at seven 'till nine, Saturday and Sunday, four 'till ten. And let's keep it on the down low, alright? That way we have a secret weapon."

The bell rang for the end of class. "I've got to go tell the rest of the team… see you guys around, alright?" He walked off, still shaking his head in shock.

Harry and Hermione looked to each other with wide eyes. "Quidditch…" Hermione said in awe.

Harry chuckled. "We've gotta write Sirius."

**AN: **I am SOOOO sorry this was so long in coming! I feel horrid. We moved, and I rather lost my place, as it were…. Heh. Hehe. Please don't kill me? I can't write more if you kill me! Honest!

--Aerin


	11. Chapter Ten: Come the Firefly

**Chapter Ten: Come the Firefly**

_--"I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of divination requires." Professor Trelawny, PoA_

Draco Malfoy rolled over in his bed, trying to ignore the snores of the Longbottom boy. He could not sleep for the life of him. His father hadn't written yet, and since it had been nearly two weeks, that was anything but good. There was no conceivable way Lucius hadn't heard of his Sorting; Draco had sent a letter himself. The long silence could only mean one thing.

Lucius was filing papers to disown him.

There could be other reasons (perhaps his father was so bloody _proud _of him that he'd decided to wait to write a letter) but they were all _bull_. He would be a Malfoy no longer once the papers went through.

There were few cases of a pureblood being disowned. The only ones he could think of in recent history were Sirius Black, who'd always been against pureblood ideals, and Andromeda Black, who'd married a Muggle. If he recalled correctly Andromeda had been in Ravenclaw, and Sirius had been in Gryffindor. If he wasn't put up for adoption, they were the closest relatives he had who would even consider taking him.

He didn't know his Aunt Andromeda very well; he only knew that she'd married a Muggle and had a daughter she'd named Nymphadora of all things. Nymphadora, according to his father, had graduated the year before, and had been in Gryffindor. Apparently she'd even been seeing one of the Weasleys.

Sirius, on the other hand, he knew quite a bit about from his fathers rants. The man had been arrested for being a Death Eater and killing thirteen people with a single curse, but had been proved innocent. He'd then legally taken custody of and adopted his godson, Harry Potter. He'd also apparently wed the girl he'd been engaged to before being arrested, whom his parents seemed to despise as well.

He wasn't sure which would be better. At Andromeda's house he wouldn't have to deal with Harry, but for all he knew she was still living with a _Muggle_. But that was better for the alternative; no self respecting pureblood family would adopt a disowned Malfoy, and he'd most likely end up living with some Muggleborns who felt _sorry _for him. He hated pity more than anything else.

He stewed for a moment before his mind went back to the topic it had gone to ever since he'd arrived here. _Why Gryffindor? _While bravery in itself wasn't a bad thing, he wasn't fond of the Gryffindor habit of rushing into things without thinking. Besides, he'd had Slytherin values drilled into his head for as long as he could remember. What had made things go so wrong?

_Black would know, _his traitorous mind whispered. _He must've gone through the same thing. He was raised to a dark family- the darkest there was. You've heard the stories about his mother. And yet, he was still in Gryffindor, still best friends with half-bloods… why? _

"None of my business," Draco mumbled under his breath. "And I'm not like Black. I'm not."

Then why didn't the idea hold as much horror as it once had?

-----

Mrs. Weasley bustled around the house in a generally dark mood. Not only had her Ronniekins, the twins, and darling Percy gone back to school, Ginny was in her room sulking and refused to come out, and Arthur was still at work. Bill was off in Egypt doing who knows what, and Charlie…

She sighed. Charlie, the most foolhardy boy she'd ever raised. _Honestly, he's worse than the twins sometimes. _He'd left that lovely girl Nymphadora to work with his _dragons_. Such a nice girl, she'd been…

"I've half a mind to send him a Howler," she muttered under her breath. "I thought I'd taught him better. Leaving a wonderful girl like that for those silly dragons of his… well, one day he is going to regret it. He will look back and realize that he's lost Nymphadora, and it's his own fault." She paused. "I shall have to invite her over for tea."

With a smart nod, she went back to her sweeping.

-----

"Right," Davies said to the team. It was the first Quidditch practice of the season, and Harry and Hermione were eyeing the team with nervousness and calculations. "This is Harry Black and Hermione Granger. They're going to be our Seeker and one of our Chasers respectively." Sound immediately broke out.

"What?"

"But they're First Years!"

"I've never—"

"Davies, what the hell are you thinking?" Harry vaguely recognized her as Melissa Jones, who'd dated George for a while the first time around. "They're _first years_, and this is a dangerous game. They're going to get hurt."

"Who cares about that?" Andrew Kyr shouted. "Are they any good is the bloody question we should be asking. Why the hell else would Davies get firsties?

More shouting broke out at this, and before Jones and Kyr could come to blows, Davies let out a high pitched whistle. Everything immediately fell silent and all eyes turned to the captain. "Okay. You all are going to listen to me, and you're going to listen now. Black and Granger, from what Flitwick has told me, are good. _Damn _good. And frankly, I can't think of any way this team could get worse. Bloody hell mates, last year _Hufflepuff _beat us!" The team hung their heads, ears turning red with remembered shame.

"With these two though, we might have a chance. And yes, Jones, they are young—very much so. But according to them, they've been flying for years, and if they can't handle themselves, then I can and will kick them off this team. So no, I will _not _be allowing them to get injured." She flushed slighlty, but closed her still-open mouth.

"And if anyone treats them badly for being _firsties_, as Kyr here so eloquently put it, they will be dealing with the business end of my fist. Got it?" The team nodded once more. "So let's try this again. This is Harry Black and Hermione Granger, your new teammates. Now, let's get flying, you bunch of ingrates!"

With a few moans and goood-natured grunts, the Ravenclaw team took to the air. Harry and Hermione were about twenty feet off the ground when Melissa flew over to talk to them. She smiled apologetically. "Hey, sorry about Davies. He isn't usually like this, he's just really stressed. He's the youngest Quidditch captain at Hogwarts you know. I'm Melinda Jones. I didn't mean you shouldn't be on the team, by the way; it's just, my half-brother's a first year, and I'm a tad too overprotective of him. No hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings," Hermione confirmed. "I'm Hermione, and this is my best friend Harry. It's nice to meet you." Melissa moved to reply, but Davies whistled again.

"ALRIGHT! TEN LAPS AROUND THE PITCH! WE ARE FOCUSING ON _ACCURACY_, PEOPLE! IF ANYONE SO MUCH AS SKIMS THE STANDS, WE WILL DO TEN MORE LAPS! GO!" Melissa muttered something about overachieving morons and the three of them flew off.

A long and grueling practice later, Harry and Hermione were back in the Ravenclaw Common Room, just relaxing. After a few moments of comfortable silence, Hermione spoke. "Any progress on the cure, Harry?"

He sighed and shook his head. "Not after I figured out how to bond the Permanent Stick Potion in. What about the Non-Addictive Dreamless Sleep?" When they had come to Hogwarts they had decided to work on projects seperately to save time, and combine every week or so.

"Better. I found a way to replace the mugwort with chamomile, as odd as it sounds, which decreases the dependancy, but it's still there. Can you think of anything else?" At his request she listed the ingredients, and he frowned in thought slightly.

"Have you considered replacing the bogweed with, oh, I dunno… some sort of retaining agent bonded with thyme? That would get rid of most of the dependency, at least decrease it even more, and it would make it taste much better." He sent her a roughish smile.

She stared at him with wide eyes before leaping over to give him a hug. "Harry, that's bloody brilliant! And I can use lacewing flies as the retaining agent! Oh Harry, you're a genius! I've got to go work on this!" She rushed over to the Common Room door.

"Hermione!" Harry called over to her. She looked over her shoulder at him with a raised eyebrow. "Maybe you should wait 'till tomorrow… you do realize it's eleven o'clock?" A cute blush came over her face.

"Right. I knew that."

-----

Tea with Mrs. Weasley was a decidedly awkward affair, full of loaded questions such as:

"Have you seen Charlie lately? He mentioned you in a letter," and

"So what have you been doing since you and Charlie broke it off?"

"No, I haven't heard from Charlie," she said with an awkward smile. "And I've been accepted to the Auror program."

Mrs. Weasley's eyes lit up. "That's lovely, dear! Arthur works at the ministry, you know. Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. They've offered him several promotions, but he's just so happy where he is!" She let out a helpless giggle as if to say _'Well, you know how Weasley men can be.'_

Tonks smiled again, a slightly forced one. "I'm glad for him, that he has a job he loves. I've always wanted to be an auror, ever since I was a kid." She found that she was blurting things out to Charlie's mother that she'd never gotten the chance to tell Charlie, but somehow it was the least awkward part of their entire conversation so far.

"My mum would tell me stories about how horrible her family was, and dad would step in and say that the Death Eaters would be taken care of by the big, strong Aurors like his little Nymphie." She let out a choked sob without noticing. "He—he died, a few years back. But that was how I met Sirius and Josie and Remus, and Harry and Hermione, and they're… well, they're my family, really.

"After Dad died, Mum and I fought more and more. She blamed me for his death, because I was there too, and I survived when he didn't. And all of the little things that hadn't seemed to matter before—me being a Metamorphmagus, so she never knew if she was looking at me or not, and her tendency to still look down on all things Muggle because of the way she was brought up, and all these other stupid little things—they all seemed so mush more horrible with Dad gone.

"So I stayed with Sirius over the summer when they kicked me out, and I remember just thinking—this is it, this is what it would've been like if Dad was still alive and Mum and I were a little more forgiving, and I loved it. And then I got to accepted, and it all would have been perfect, but Charlie…"

She sighed. "I understand that he has places he wants to go, and things he wants to do, and I think I understand that they're places I can't go, things I can't do, but it still hurts. I just wish that he would have given it a try, see if it worked, because now I'll always wonder." She rubbed at her eyes, thanking her lucky stars that her talent let her keep them from turning red, and smiled slightly at Molly Weasley. "But I'll never know, now will I?"

Mollly sniffled slightly and patted Tonks' hand. "I am so sorry, dear. Arthur and I broke it off for a while too, you know. Middle of the first war, and we were madly in love, but he wanted to join the Order, and he didn't want me getting dragged into the war. After my brothers' were killed, I managed to convince him that I was a target anyways, and that we might as well enjoy ourselves while we still could.

She smiled, dare Tonks say it, wickedly. "Nine months later, Bill was born."

Tonks choked on her tea and started laughing despite herself. The rest of the meeting was decidedly less awkward, and when she left, Tonks was still smiling. "Thanks for the tea, Molly," she said with a wide grin. "We should get together again sometime."

Molly pulled her into a tight hug. "That would be lovely, dear." Mrs. Weasley was still smiling and waving when Tonks Apparated away.

-----

Amelia Bones was in her kitchen, singing along to tunes on the Muggle radio, when the owl came. "And all of the people, and I don't know why… Oh, hello Artemis. Got a letter for me?" Continuing to hum, she took the letter from the owl's leg and began to read it.

_Amelia,_

_Thank you again for the lovely dinner. Sirius' niece, Nymphadora Tonks, is going to come over to join Sirius, Josie, the Grangers and I for dinner tonight. It's not at all formal; unless it rains, it'll be a barbeque. Muggle or magical clothes are fine. I hope to see you there! No need to R.S.V.P; just show up if you can._

_--Remus_

Amelia smiled at the letter. Remus was sweet; she was so lucky to know him. "You fly on back to Remus, Artemis. He said not to bother to send a letter back, so I'll just come. See you later!" Artemis hooted and flew back out the window. Feeling even more cheery than she had before, Amelia turned the radio up a few notches. "Can't keep my eyes off of you…"

-----

Sirius sighed heavily as he looked at the letter. "Hey Jo!" he shouted.

"Coming!" his wife yelled back from the library, coming into the kitchen where he was sitting and joining him at the table. "What is it?"

He sighed heavily and looked up at Josie. "Lucius Malfoy's disowned his son for getting into Gryffindor. Remember, Harry and Hermione told us in their letter? Well, I'm his closest blood relative other than Andromeda that would be even possibly willing to take him. This is a form asking if we'll come to the custody hearing. I doubt Andy will, she's still torn up over Ted."

Josie sighed, but smiled slightly. "Remind you of anyone?" He chuckled. "I dunno. I would hate for him to have to be sent to an orphanage, but do you think we can handle four children? We already have Harry and the little tyke on the way, and Hermione practically lives here already—would Draco be too much?"

Sirius ran a hand through his hair, a habit he'd picked up from James years ago. "I don't know, Jo. He would only be here for the summer and winter holidays, and Tonks is here over the summer too, so she could help out. Winter would be the only difficult time, but the Grangers did say they owed us, and would help us out if we needed anything… what do you think?"

She smiled slightly. "I think we should definitely go to the custody hearing, and at least see if Andy turns up and what state she's in, if it looks like she can handle him if she shows. And if it doesn't, or if she doesn't come… we can figure it out then. We do have the room…"

He laughed. "We certainly do. I don't know _how _Uncle Alphard managed to live in a house this big on his own. Well, he had his dog, but that was it."

Josie smiled at him. "Why don't you send that back in then and say we'll be there. I was researching a potion for work… I'll be in the library if you need me, alright?"

"Alright," Sirius said with a smile, leaning over and giving her a quick kiss. "I'm going to fill out this form… I hate forms. Loathe them. With a passion. Stupid bloody forms." He continued to mumble to himself as Josie went back to the library, but he was smiling.

-----

Harry finished the sketch with a final flourish and smiled slightly, sadly. It was everything he had wanted it to be, which was the most depressing part of all. The drawing was a perfect rendering of the moment… he could almost hear the voices, and he hated it.

Anyone looking over his shoulder would be awed by the picture. It was a man, with fairly long hair, falling backwards in a graceful arc. His arms were spread in an attempt to stop his fall, and a look of surprise and remorse echoed through his eyes and across his face. His mouth was slightly open, and behind him was a gaping blackness, covered by a fluttering curtain.

It was perfect, yet it was one of the most flawed things he'd ever seen.

He sighed and flipped through the pages a bit before closing the sketchbook over a drawing of a beautiful woman lying spread-eagle on the floor in front of a broken crib, with death and destruction surrounding her.

They had given their lives for him, and now he had to pay his penance. The drawings were the reminder of all his failures, all the things that had gone wrong and would never, never go wrong again.

He swore it.

-----

Nymphadora Tonks laughed loudly and continued to talk to Amalia Bones. "So then I asked him, what would his brother want with a hinkypunk anyways?" She could barely breathe, she was laughing so hard, but she somehow managed to continue. "And he says, 'Geeze, Tonks, might as well call it a kinkypunk, let's put it that way." She dissolved into laughter, as did Amelia.

Sirius shook his head, laughing maniacally. "Tonks, where do you _get _these stories?"

Remus snorted. "We need to make sure she never meets Mundungus Fletcher."

The group laughed some more, and Josie leaned over to kiss Sirius on the cheek. "This barbeque was a very good idea, dear." He beamed, and she turned to Amelia. "How's Susan doing, Amy?"

Amelia smiled. "She's doing well, thank you. She was Sorted into Hufflepuff, but said that she was sitting with a group of friends including Harry and Hermione at the Ravenclaw table for meals."

Mr. Granger smiled. "Yes, I believe Hermione mentioned that in her letter." The rest of the evening was spent in companionable silence as a bond was slowly formed, and fireflies swirled around in the darkness.

-----

Dumbledore sighed heavily. His plot was not going to work, even he could see that. Somehow, Miss Granger had already befriended Mr. Potter, and her fierce loyalty to him could be seen in her eyes.

But there were even more disturbing things at work. She had an absurdly strong Occlumency shield; even he could not break through it. That meant that either she had learned somehow, which was near impossible, or she was a natural at the mind magics.

There were only two ways to be a natural at mind magics. She was either a natural at Legilimency, which meant she would have natual Occlumency shields, like Severus, or… or she was a Seeress.

The question was, which?

**AN: **In the next chapter, we find out what'll be happening to Draco. And yes, we'll be getting to the real Philospher's Stone stuff soon enough. :) Any guesses on how Hermione knows Occlumency? Anyone? Anyone:P Also, last chapter's title referred to "Sit with us?" Yeah. And this chapter's title comes from the last poem in Book One of the Abarat, by Clive Barker.

--Aerin


	12. Chapter Eleven: A Swiftly Tilting Planet

**Chapter Eleven: A Swiftly Tilting Planet**

_--"If all goes well, Professor Bogart Snape will be forced into that vulture-topped hat, and that green dress, with that big red handbag." Remus Lupin, PoA_

Draco Malfoy sighed as he looked at the letter that had been delivered by owl that morning, complete with the Ministry's seal. "I knew it," he muttered to himself.

_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

_You are required to attend a custody hearing as to your guardianship post-disownment on Saturday, the twelfth of September. You will be excused from any classes or extracurriculars you may have Saturday. A Ministry employee will pick you up at the Hogwarts entranceway at eleven AM. The hearing shall begin at twelve noon in courtroom eleven. _

_Sincerely,_

_Bartemius Crouch Sr._

_High Member of the Wizengamot_

Draco scowled at the paper, willing it to burst into flames. His _father _hadn't even thought to send a notice. Well, what did he expect? How had this happened? He had been the perfect little Malfoy; he'd had _that _trained into him from an early age. So how had he managed to get into bleeding _Gryffindor_?

Running a hand through his hair, he put the letter back in his bag and picked it up to make his way to class. The bell would be ringing any moment now, and the last thing he needed was to be late to Potions. Even if Severus was his godfather, he despised all Gryffindors, and wouldn't think twice about taking twenty points if he was late. The last thing he needed was more people to hate him.

Not for the first time, he wondered why he had turned down Black's offer to sit with him on the morning of September 2nd, other than the obvious not wanting to hang around with muggleborns and halfbloods. For the first time since he was little, he wondered why the were inferior to him. He twitched, ready for his father to descend, wand at the ready… and froze.

He was alone. His father wasn't here. His father had _disowned _him.

Ignoring the odd looks he was getting, a First Year standing still in the middle of the hall, he closed his eyes to take in this new revelation. He'd been disowned. It didn't matter at all what he acted like, what he said… who he was friends with. He'd never be on the bad end of his father's wand again…

Merlin, everything was confusing. _Did _he believe that those without magic were below him? That those not of impeccable birth were below him? Suddenly, everything seemed unsure. In fact, the only thing that seemed certain was that he needed to get to class…

"Shite," he swore, eyes wide, as he raced through the hallways and towards the dungeons. Who knew what Saturday would bring?

-----

Their second Potions class, Harry reflected, was far more interesting than their first.

This was mainly because the essays of Jane Peters and James Orion had been more far-reaching than the two of them had ever realized.

"Now," Snape had said, after taking roll, "In modern potion history, there have been several major breakthroughs. Who can name one?" Hermione raised her hand, and Snape sighed. However, this time around, he had no reason not to calll on her, because she was not a Gryffindor. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"The Wolfsbane Potion," she said promptly. "It allows werewolves to retain their right mind while transformed on the full moon."

"Correct," Snape said with a sneer. "Two points to Ravenclaw. Anyone else?"

Susan raised her hand. "The Langua Potion, sir."

"Two points to Hufflepuff. And what does it do?" Snape snapped, though Harry and Hermione didn't notice—they were staring at each other in shock. That was one of _their _potions. What…

Susan shook her head, looking embarassed. "I don't know, sir. My aunt mentioned it…"

"Anyone?" he snarled. Harry raised his hand hesitantly. "Yes, P-Black?"

"The Lingua potion allows the taker to speak any language, human or otherwise, for an amount of time depending on their mass and the amount taken."

"Indeed, Black. One point to Ravenclaw. Now, who can tell me any others?"

Harry turned to Hermione with a frown. This had _never _happened before. Their potions were considered major breakthroughs? Of course, they hadn't come up with half of them the first time around; he hadn't cared much about potions 'till the war started, and by then it was too late.

"The Revelus Potion." Blaise said, frowning at Harry and Hermione's looks of confusion. "It was created by Jane Peters and James Orion, the same two who created the Lingua Potion. It allows the taker to temporarily see through any disguises."

"Three points to Ravenclaw," Snape said. "Jane Peters and James Orion are, perhaps, the best Alchemists of this century. Who can define an Alchemist?" Hermione's hand would have been the first to rise, but she was too far in shock to answer. It was, instead, Mandy.

"An Alchemist is a researcher and creater of Potions."

"True, though massively understated. One point to Ravenclaw. An Alchemist, in Muggle-" he spat the word out as though it was something filthy "-history, is one who experiments with chemicals, primarily trying to turn things such as coal and lead into gold. In the magical world, this process was finished with the creation of an object called the Sorcerer's Stone.

"As such, an Alchemist not only creates and experiments with potions, but also items that can help in their creation. Well? Miss Granger and Black have got the idea, so why aren't the rest of you copying this down!" There was a scribble of paper and pens, and the rest of the class was spent discussing the papers that "Jane Peters and James Orion" had written.

Harry and Hermione didn't have the chance to talk until late that afternoon; they slipped away to the Room of Requirement, which Harry had "discovered" several days earlier. Harry collapsed into a chair, and Hermione sat heavily on the couch across from him.

"Bloody hell," he said a moment later. "I had no idea that the paper was thought of so well. _Alchemists_?"

She shook her head with a sigh. "Harry, this is insane. We… we're _famous. _We're supposedly amazing Alchemists! So what so we _do_?"

"Write a book?" Harry suggested. Hermione's mouth dropped open. "No, I'm serious! We don't have to publish it, but we can make a… a compendium of sorts, I suppose. I mean, you know how in the Muggle world there's the Periodic Table of the Elements, and you can figure out how things are going to react because of their chemical breakdown and how they react to types of substances?"

"I see what you mean," Hermione said slowly. "We work with these principles anyways, but we can create families of the herbs and things that work in Potions, and the way that they react to other families. Like, how basilisk venom has the same degenerative properties of threstral blood, but to a greater extreme. Things like that?"

"Exactly!" Harry said, beginning to get excited. "And even if we never published it, it would come in handy, like when you were asking me about what to replace to decrease the dependancy—we'd have it all written down."

"Perfect!" Hermione exclaimed. "Only, even though it's a good idea, I fail to see how it helps with the current predicament."

"We're supposed to be Alchemists, right? So if we do this, then maybe we're on our way to actually deserving the title."

She nodded slowly. "Yes, I suppose you're right. And maybe we will publish it, because it'll surely help others."

Harry smiled. "I don't see how it could be a harm."

She smiled back, and the beginnings of the Potions Compendium were born.

-----

Saturday came far too soon for everyone involved. Draco waited impatiently in the Great Hall until a tall dark-skinned man Apparated in. "You Malfoy?"

Draco nodded. "Yes."

"Right then. I'm Auror Shacklebolt, and you'll be coming with me." He put his hand on Draco's shoulder and led him outside to a carriage, which the two of them climbed into. It left a moment later. "This will take us to the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. I will then Apparate us to the Ministry." Draco nodded to show he understood, and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.

After reaching the edge of the property, Shacklebolt did indeed Apparate him. It was a decidedly uncomfortable feeling, rather like being squeezed through something far too small for him to fit in. They landed outside the Ministry, and Draco gladly took a few gasps of fresh air before they began to walk inside.

"Here it is," Shacklebolt said gruffly. "Courtroom eleven. Trial starts in five minutes. Good luck, kid. Be seeing you." Before Draco could reply, he had turned the corner and was gone.

Draco sighed, and with only the slightest bit of hesitation, entered courtroom eleven.

The Minster nodded to him austerely. (Or at least, it appeared that that was what he was trying to do. The man looked absolutely ridiculous.) "Young Draco, hello," he said calmly. "If you will kindly sit in the chair in the middle of the room." Draco did so, and Fudge banged his gavel on the table in front of him.

"Right then. I call to order the custody trial for one Draco Malfoy, disowned by one Lucius Malfoy, papers filed September the sixth of the year 1991, as recorded by the Ministry of Magic. In attendance are Mr. Mafoy, Draco Malfoy, Mr. Sirius Black, cousin to Draco's mother, and his wife, Mrs. Josephine Delaney-Black, and Mrs. Andromeda Tonks nee Black, sister to Draco's mother, and her daughter, one Nymphadora Tonks." A girl who seemed to be in her late teens and had bright blue spiky hair growled at the name.

Draco looked around the room. Sirius black was sitting next to his very pregnant wife as far away from the Minister as they could get. Andromeda Tonks was sitting behind the Minister, Lucius to the Minister's left, and Nymphadora was sitting next to Sirius as well.

"Lucius Mafoy shall speak his piece first. Mr. Malfoy?"

Lucius stood and glared at Draco, who tried his hardest not to cower at the anger in the man's eyes. To his surprise, he succeeded. _Maybe I'm more of a Gryffindor than I thought. _"This _boy_," he spat, "Has defied the values of my family. As such, I have chosen to disown him. The necessary papers have been filed, and after this hearing I shall be happy to never see him again. He is no son of mine."

Draco laughed hoarsly, not caring if he was supposed to be speaking now or not. "Defied the values of our family? Is our motto not that we will bow to no one? It is you who deserves to be disowned, _father_, not I." There was silence at this proclamation as Lucius steamed and the Minister looked nervously between the two of them.

The man coughed. "Er, right. Now, each of the candidates for young Mr. Malfoy's adoption will speak. Mrs. Andromeda Tonks, please?"

The woman rose, and Draco gave her a cursory glance. She had black hair with grey streaks going through it tied into a messy braid. Her robes were slightly off-kilter, and she seemed to be slightly tipsy. His eyes widened slightly.

"I am the boy's aunt," she managed, swaying slightly. "I have every right to take him in. I've raised my daughter just fine, haven't I, Nymphy darling?" The blue-haired girl stuck her tongue out at her mother, but the woman didn't seem to notice. "I'm more than capable of handling a little boy." She sat down, seeming satisfied with herself.

The Minister bit his lip, looking worried. "Ah. Of course. Mr. Black?"

Sirius stood, whispering one last word to his wife, who smiled and nodded. "Right. My name's Sirius Orion Black, and this is my wife Josephine. We adopted our godson four years ago, and he actually attends Hogwarts with Draco. Harry-- our godson's—best friend Hermione, who's also their age, practically lives at our house as well, although her parent's house is across the street from us.

"As I'm sure you can tell we have a child of our own on the way—" here, his wife slapped his arm "—and we'd be more than happy to take Draco in as well."

"Ah, but if I'm not mistaken, there's a werewolf living in your house, isn't there, Black?" Lucius hissed.

Sirius scowled and opened his mouth, but was cut off by Draco. "Which isn't a factor legally if he takes Wolfsbane and is restrained on the full moon, _father_." He wasn't entirely sure why he'd interrupted. Perhaps it was the desire not to live with a drunken woman who's daughter seemed to despise her. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to go to an orphanage. Perhaps it really was because he wanted to ask Black how a disowned pureblood survived in Gryffindor. But for whatever reason he had spoken, and it made him feel quite relieved.

Sirius smiled at him, and to his surprise he found he liked it. Without meaning to, his own lips twitched in a smile that he hurriedly cut off before it could truly begin.

"Right then," the Minister said, trying to bluster his way through the conflict. "Now that everyone's had their say, we'll hear from Draco here. If whoever he chooses as guardian is deemed acceptable by the Ministry and accepts his guardianship, then he'll live with them. Draco?"

He was surprised. He wasn't sure how he'd thought it would happen, but he didn't think he would be the one deciding. That wasn't important though; what mattered was what the hell he was going to say.

He knew what he _wanted_. He wanted to live with Sirius Black, find out about what his life could be like, fit in, maybe even become friends with Black and Granger. That was what he _wanted_, more than anything. But since when did he get what he wanted?

Ever since his father had started instilling Malfoy family morals in him, he'd wanted the pain to stop, but he didn't get that. Ever since he'd known his mother he'd wanted some form of love or attention, but he'd never gotten that. And ever since he'd gotten his Hogwarts letter he'd wanted to be in Slytherin, to make his father proud enough that maybe he'd think Draco had learned his lessons, but he hadn't gotten that either.

Maybe, though, the last one was a good thing.

What would have happened if he was in Slytherin? He'd have to stay Draco Malfoy, heir to the pureblood throne, so to speak, Deatheater in training. And now he had _choices_.

He froze at that thought. He _did _have choices. He'd been making them himself. He'd chosen not to sit with Black and Granger, though that was understandable; he hadn't known he was being disowned then. He had chosen to come to this hearing instead of allowing himself to just be sent to an orphanage. So what was stoping him from choosing now?

_Nothing_, the thought immediately came. _You heard Lucius. He never wants to see you again. So what's stopping you? Say what you want to say._

And so he allowed a small smile to crease his face. "I'd like to live with Sirius Black, please." He forced himself not to look at the look of disgust on Lucius Malfoy's face.

-----

Nymphadora Tonks smiled and extended her hand to Draco aftet the hearing, when they were waiting in the hallway while Sirius and his wife cleared things with the Minster. "Hey. I'm your cousin, in a way. Call me Tonks. And good choice in not picking my mum."

Draco smiled slightly and shook her hand. "A pleasure, Tonks. I'm Draco. Do you know Mr. Black? You were sitting with him."

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, Sirius is my favorite uncle-like-figure. I've been staying at their house on holidays for a few years now. Josie's real sweet too, and Harry and Hermione are great kids. Remus is far too nice for his own good, too. You'd never guess he was a werewolf if you didn't know."

He nodded. "That's good to know. Do you not like your mother?"

Tonks sighed. "Don't even get me _started _on her. She's just… grr! You know?"

Draco shrugged. "I suppose. It depends on what type of grr you mean."

She looked at him for a moment before bursting into laughter and clapping him on the shoulder. "I like you, kid." To his surpise, he felt his heart swell with something he could vaguely recognize as happiness.

-----

_Harry, _the letter read,

_You'll remember that we wrote you last week about the possibility of Draco Malfoy coming to live with us. Well, after the hearing it's been decided he will be. He's taken his mother's maiden name (which is, indeed, Black) so you may have already heard. I wouldn't know; I don't remember Ravenclaws and Gryffindors having many classes together while I was in school, but it might be different now. _

_I'd ask you to talk to him, but I know you've already tried. It's up to him now to make the first move. He will be coming home with you and Hermione over Christmas break; am I the only one who feels like I'm running a day care? Just kidding kiddo, you know I love you, and Hermione's like the niece I never had._

_Much love, _

_Sirius_

_Note that the rest of this letter, starting with this sentence, is charmed so only you can read it. _

_What happened with Draco in your timelline, Harry? I know you said he was engaged to Ginny Weasley, and I know he never came to live with me, but were you two friends or just friendly with each other? Any reasons why you wouldn't like him living with us? Because avoiding awkwardness is always good._

_How long have you lived now? Twenty-two years? You're getting up there, mate. _

_Much, much love (hey, I can't sign it twice?),_

_Sirius_

Harry Potter smiled broadly. Today, he mused, was a lovely day.

**AN: **I tried to post this earlier, but FF.N decided it hated my computer. Happy fifteenth to me, by the way:) Yeah, the last couple of chapters have been edited to include Susan since I completely forgot about her (oops) and all chapters have been edited for spelling and grammar. Yes, I finally got around to it. (Block: gasps) Amazing, no? This chapter's title is the name of an amazing book by Madeleine L'Engle; everyone should read it.

Also, I have an **announcement**. I already had to make this on HVSC, and I was hoping I wouldn't have to make it here, but _oh well_. I've had a couple of reviews saying that they're dissapointed with how this story is turning out. My only reaction to that is, don't read it. I mean, I love having people read and review my stories, but I write for _fun_, because I _enjoy it_, and if your only aim in reviewing is to tell me that you don't like my story, why are you wasting your time? There's this handy little button on your browser called "back" that will take you away from my work, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

I am writing this story more for myself (and my best friend, to be honest) than for anything else. It's a sort of freedom for me. I can be whoever I want to be in these words, and nothing you can say about them can bring me down, because when you are insulting my work you are insulting me, and I learned how to deal with insults to myself a long, _long _time ago. So no, I'm not trying to make you stop reading this; I love having people read my stories, otherwise I wouldn't post them. But if it doesn't make _you _happy to read it, not in the way it makes me to _write _it, then _don't _read it. Read something that will make you happy, because that's the _point_.

--Aerin


	13. Chapter Twelve: Away From Me

**Chapter Twelve: Away From Me**

_--"I wonder how you expect to gain an idea of my usual teaching methods if you continue to interrupt me? You see, I do not generally permit people to talk while I am talking." Minerva McGonagall, OotP_

Harry threw up stronger mental shields as he felt another cursory scan by Dumbledore. Damn the man. Well, at least he could keep the Headmaster out. This Dumbledore was the person Harry least wanted to know about his past, because this Dumbledore had never dealt with his older self after finding out about the Prophecy, hadn't finally realized he was a meddling old coot. This Dumbledore was a nightmare.

At least he didn't have to worry about Hermione. He'd never bothered teaching her Occlumency, because it would raise suspicions, but he knew she had it naturally. How, he'd never really been sure, but the first time around she'd had the shields, and now she did too.

Shifting his mind to other matters, he looked at the Daily Prophet. Still no sign of anything to do with the Philosopher's Stone, to his dismay. They _had _run a human interest piece on Draco's disownment and how custody had been subsequently given to Sirius and Josie Black, _the _Harry Potter-Black's adoptive parents and godparents.

But _why _had nothing come up about the Philosopher's Stone? Why didn't Voldemort go for it this time?

What had happened the first time? The Stone had gotten to Hogwarts when Hagrid picked it up, on the same trip he took Harry on. voldemort attacked a few days later, because Quirrel hadn't yet found out that the Stone was at Hogwarts… there. That was it. Since Hagrid didn't have to pick him up, they didn't bother combining trips and got the Stone to Hogwarts earlier. Quirrel had found out and told Voldemort, and the theirving expedition had been cancelled. That was it.

He allowed himself a small smile, and Hermione tugged on his arm. He looked over to her. "Yeah, 'Mione?" he asked, his smile widening slightly.

"It's five minutes to the class bell," she said with a grin. "Thought you might want to finish your toast, since you're so deep in thought."

"Thanks." Where had the time gone? He finished his toast as he tuned into the conversation going on.

"No, no, a Cavum Ward can only be cast to work against banshees, dementors, lethifolds, and threstrals—you're thinking of a Lacrima Ward, that would keep out any Dark Creatures."

"Mm," Harry said, swallowing the bite in his mouth. "No, you're both wrong. Obscurum Invidia Wards, those keep out all Dark Creatures. Very hard to cast though. In 'Wards Throughout the Ages', it says it takes at least a Sorcerer to cast them."

Blaise looked impressed. "You know, I think you're right."

Mandy smiled. "Of course he's right, Blaise. Otherwise you'd be right, and it's not like that's ever going to happen." The rest of the group started laughing, and Blaise pretended to pout. Whatever he would have said was cut off by the bell, and they left the Great Hall to make their way to Transfiguration for the Ravenclaws and Susan, Defense for Neville, and Potions for the twins.

-----

Draco let out a breath. They had finally left the Great Hall. Getting up a moment later he left as well, hurrying only once he had gotten through the doors at a dignified pace. Sneaking up behind Potter's group and hiding behind a corner, he shot a quick hext at Potter's bag, causiong the seam to split.

"Damn," the boy muttered softly, kneeling down to pick up his things. "You lot go on," he gestured to his friends. "Once I have it all straightened out I can fix it no problem. I'll catch up to you in a moment, alright?"

The others nodded, though Granger looked wary. She whispered something to Potter, who whispered something back. She started, but nodded as well, and took off with Zabini, Brocklehurst, and Longbottom. Draco moved to clear his throat, but Potter was quicker.

"What do you want, Draco?" he asked without turning. Draco felt his jaw drop. How… "You're hair is unmistakable, and it was hanging out around the corner a bit. What is it?" Potter finished picking his things up, fixed his bag with a muttered word and a wave of his wand, shoved his things in it, and turned to look at him.

"I… I wanted to talk with you. I'm sure you've heard by now that your godfather's adopted me…"

Potter nodded. "I just call him dad, but whatever. Yes, he wrote me."

Heartened slightly by Potter not cursing him on the spot, he continued. "And I've been thinking. I'm my own person now. Lucius made sure of that. I was remembering what you said that first breakfast, about if being an outsider was really what I wanted. And I've been thinking, and I'm not sure it is. So I wanted to apologize for the way I treated oyu that day, and I was hoping we could at least be on friendly terms…"

Potter smiled and stuck out a hand. "Sure thing, Draco. Call me Harry. Come sit with us at lunch, if you'd like." Barely containing a grin, Draco shook Pott-Harry's hand. "Now, though, we should probably get to class. "

Maybe, Draco mused, just maybe, being a Gryffindor wouldn't be so bad after all.

-----

Quirinus Quirrel was having a bad day. A day of horrific proportions, actually.

Lord Voldemort was not pleased, and when Voldemort was not pleased, bad things tended to happen. It was the first of October, and he still had not found a way to get down to find the Philosopher's Stone without Dumbledore or another teacher finding out. To make things worse, he was almost positive that Severus Snape suspected him.

And now his Lord wanted him to kill Potter, and he could think of no way to do it without attracting suspicion. Potter wasn't an idiot; alongside Hermione Granger, he was most assuredlyt he brightest child in the entire First Year. Not to mention that all the teachers seemed to be looking out for him. How the hell would he be able to make it look like an accident? It wasn't as though the boy did anything dangerous.

Wait.

He smiled. Quidditch.

-----

The day of the first Quidditch match of the season dawned bright and early. Ravenclaw was playing Hufflepuff, and (to Hermione's surprise) neither she, nor Harry, were nervous. They'd both been flying for five years, and were quite comfortable on a broom. Hermione, even moe to her surprise, wasn't even worried about the crowd, though she supposed this was because she'd gotten interested in theater severasl summers before and been in several small community productions.

So she ate a small breakfast, because it was never a good idea to fly on a full stomach, and chatted with their group of friiends just like she usually did. Draco came over and sat down next to her. She sent him a quick smile, which he returned.

"How are you, Gra-Hermione?" he asked quietly.

"I'm good, thank you. How about you Draco?"

"I'm good."

He'd come to sit with them at kunch yesterday for no apparent reason. Harry had been the only unsurprised one in the bunch, so Hermione'd deduced that they'd talked. Draco had, to her surprise, apologized to her for insulting her heritage and then apologized to the group for not sitting with them earlier. There was awkward silence for a few minutes, but the subject of Quidditch bridged the gap.

And now it was time for her first game.

She was very dizzy all of a sudden. She reached up to touch her forehead, confusion clouding her eyes. "You all right?" she heard Draco ask, seemingly from worlds away. She tried to tell him she was fine, but the dizziness got worse, and suddenly she was falling.

She landed with a thump that shook her bones and stood up, looking around in confusion. She was in a fairly small and roundish room that was rather sunken into the ground. Professor Quirrel was standing at the bottom of a set of stairs, in front of a mirror.

"Professor!" she called, running down the stairs. "Professor, I was in the Great Hall, and I felt all dizzy, and now I don't know where I am. Could you help me?" Silence. "Professor?"

His mouth was moving, but there was no sound coming out, and he didn't seem to see her. "Professor, I-" She was cut off from finishing as Harry of all people stepped out of the door onto the top of the staircase. "Harry!" she said in relief, but there was something wrong. He couldn't see her either.

She watched as Harry made his way down the steps. He and Professor Quirrel seemed to be having a heated conversation, but there was something wrong with Harry. He was skinnier than she remembered (not that her Harry was fat, but this one looked almost anorexic), paler and less muscular too.

She let out a shriek as Quirrel paralyzed Harry. She ran to Harry, but found that she was incorporeal somehow, and couldn't help him. And then came the most horrible thing of all. Quirrel began to unwrap his turban. He turned around, and she screamed. There was a

face on the back of his head, and it was unmistakably Voldemort.

The image faded and she found she was still screaming, but now there was an arm around her and a soothing hand moving hair out of her face. It was Harry, she realized a moment later, and clung to him like a lifeline.

"Oh, Harry, it wasd horrible! It was Professor Quirrel, and he had a _face _on his head, and it was Voldemort, and you were there and you looked horrible, like you hadn't eaten in a week, and—"

He shushed her, tucking her hair behind her ear. "It's alright now, Hermione. You're in the Hospital Wing. I think you had a vision."

"A _what_?" she asked, sitting straight up. "But I'm not a—"

"I think you're a Seeress. I put a Privacy Ward up so that no one would hear us as soon as it looked like you might start screaming, so we can talk freely, by the way. What exactly happened?"

She described it all in great detail and he frowned. "You couldn't hear them? Well, that's probably because it was your first vision. From what I've read about True Seers, the ability keeps growing once it pops up." He paused and then smiled. "This means you're a natural Legilimens and Occlumens!"

"Really?" she asked with a small frown. "But I thought those were very hard to learn?"

He nodded. "They're supposed to be, yeah. See, a Seer or Seeress sees, right? Okay, that was a really bad sentence, but anyways, in theory you should be able to see into the present as well as the future, which explains the Legilimency. And any Seer has natural Occlumency to defend from people trying to read the future off of them."

"So…I can see the future? Then what was that?"

Harry shook his head. "I… I don't know. I think we should keep an eye on Quirrel though, just in case." There was a pensive silence for a moment before Harry continued.

"Hey, the Quidditch game got postponed until this afternoon, by the way. I wanted them to put it off longer, but they said that since it was just one team member, that was all we'd get. Sorry. You don't have to play if you don't want to though. There's always Chang. They put her on reserve, remember?"

Hermione smiled. "Thanks, but I feel fine now. A little tired, but fine. I think I should be ready to play. How long do we have?"

Harry checked his watch. "Two hours."

"Good then. That'll give me time to rest up. Would you wake me in an hour, if you don't mind?" He nodded. "Thanks. Oh, and could you tell Draco I'm sorry for scaring him?"

"Of course, 'Mione," Harry said as she felt herself drifting off again. Her hand was in his, she realized with some surprise, and his spare hand had moved to her hair again. It was incredibly relaxing, and she sighed, slipping into sleep easily. She wouldn't remember when she awoke, but she could have sworn that she heard Harry whisper, "I love you."

-----

Sure enough, Harry woke Hermione an hour later and they made their way to the locker rooms to change for the game. Davies seemed relieved that Hermione was alright. "I can't loose half of my secret weapon right before the first match!" he'd exclaimed, and Harry got the feeling he wasn't making a joke. Davies reminded him of Wood.

So Hermione was a Seeress. That would explain the shields, both this time and the first time. And the shields hadn't come until Seventh Year—six years after her exposure to magic. It had been almost six years this time. Odd…

He felt so guilty for lying to her about the vision, but he couldn't tell her. He knew Hermione, and if she knew about him having already lived this at all, she would keep prying until she got all the details, and he couldn't tell her that he'd been in love with her, that he still was.

If he did, then she would feel forced into loving him back, and he'd hate that more than anything. He couldn't tell her until she either fell in love with him or someone else, depending on how the cards fell. But either way, he couldn't tell her now.

"Black, you okay?" a vvoice asked, and he turned to see Davies standing there with a small frown.

"Fine," Harry said, smiling and finishing tying the ties of his uniform. "Just thinking."

"Well, don't think!" Davies exclaimed. "Unless it's about Quidditch. Quidditch is _life_, Potter, and if you blow this game because you're _thinking_, I shall see to it that you die, slowly and painfully. Now, get back to the main room! We're convening before the game!" He stormed out of the door of the boys changing room, leaving a stunned Harry.

"Whoah. Way like Wood."

After a scarily intense speech from Davies about starting the season off right, the game began. Harry flew out onto the pitch, the crowd cheering and the wind whistling past him. He'd missed this feeling, after his Sixth Year. He swiveled to a stop next to Hooch and shot Hermione a smile. She smiled back. Hooch threw the Quaffle, and the game began.

"And here's Granger with the Quaffle! Hermione Granger, new Chaser for Ravenclaw, a First Year, but look at the girl fly! She swerves, she's avoided a Bludger, and… SHE SCORES! Ten points to Ravenclaw!" Harry smiled and continued his search for the Snitch.

And then, fifteen minutes into the game, came the biggest sense of déjà vu he'd had since he'd came back. His broom started bucking wildly, and he looked at the teacher's stands to find both Snape and Quirrel muttering incantations. Only this time, there'd be no Hermione with a handy flame, because she was on the field.

He looked arounde quickly. He knew that Snape would be able to keep the broom from crashing, but all too soon, it would manage to buck him off. He was already having trouble hanging on. Glancing around the field, he smiled slightly. Now, if only there was a—there. As long as he didn't move…

Taking a deep breath, Harry Potter dove off of his broom.

He heard the crowd starting to shriek, but he pushed it out of his mind. He saw Dumbledore stand up and raise his wand. He saw the Hufflepuff Beater gasp, but he shoved it all away from him and concentrated on two things. The Beater, and the snitch.

In a move he'd had no idea he was capable of, he managed to snatch the snitch in his left hand and grab onto the tail end of the Beater's broom with his right. The Hufflepuff turned around and stared at him in shock. The stands were silent.

"Don't suppose you could drop me off on the pitch?" he asked hopefully. The Beater shook his head, eyes wide, and moved lower so that Harry's feet could touch the ground. "Thanks," he said with a wide smile. He held the snitch up to show Hooch and the crowd, and his world was suddenly a mass of wild cheers and a girl with curly brown hair and a determined expression racing towards him on her broom.

"Oh shit," he said, eyes wide. "Hermione's gonna kill me."

-----

"So Quirrel was cursing your broom?" Hermione said with a frown. "But Snape was doing something too?"

Harry nodded. "I think it was a countercurse. Sirius mentioned one time that Snape owed my dad a Life Debt he never got to repay. Maybe that was what he was doing. I mean, considering what you saw in your vision…"

She nodded slowly. "That makes sense, I suppose. What I can't figure out is why you looked so different in the vision. I mean, you didn't look much older, so I think it was sometime this year. What could happen to make you so different in that amount of time?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. The future isn't set in stone either, you know. There's some quote from Cassandra Trelawny to that effect."

"'Tomorrow is as blank to me as it is to you; the only difference is that I've seen where it could go,'" Hermione quoted. "Yes, I suppose you're right. It's just odd…"

Harry smiled and switched the subject, hating himself even more for lying to her but knowing that there was no other way.

-----

Dumbledore sat in front of the Pensieve, watching the ghostly figure of Lady Mabriel de la Couronne, the last Queen of Wizards, object of the affections of both male Hogwarts founders, as she made her final prophecy. It wasn't his memory; it had been passed down the Dumbledore line for as long as anyone could remember.

She was so young, he mused. She'd only been twenty-three when she died. She had been an amazing Healer and Duelist, and had snuck out to the battlefields of the war to help those who couldn't help themselves. She'd died defending a woman and a baby that she'd never even met.

But now was not the time to think on affairs a thousand years past. The Wizarding Monarchy had been abolished far before any Muggle one had been; the position of Minister for Magic had been around since the Great War had ended, three years after Mabriel died. No, now was the time to think of the prophecy, because it seemed that the time was drawing nearer.

But who could the other be? The first was obviously Harry; it coincided with the other prophecy too well. Not for the first time Dumbledore felt a pang of guilt for hiding it from the boy, but it could not be helped.

Who was the other? Someone with power levels equal to Harry's, the asset needed to win the war… he had to find them, bring them over to his side, before it was too late, and the war was lost.

A tear rolled down the cheek of the regal woman in the Pensieve.

**AN: **Sorry this one took a while; I've had a load of babysitting to do. Anyways, a few notes:

First off, much with the thanking! Everyone was really nice in reviews last chapter; I had quite a few tell me that this was good and to ignore anyone who said otherwise, which cheered me up and made my day. :) So, thanks to you all, and a shout out to the people who wished me a happy fifteenth. You all rock, and thank you so much for taking the time to review this, or even to just read it. I understand if you don't review; I'm not so good at that myself. :P

I had a very good question on the quotes at the beginning of the chapters. For the most part, they're just quotes I find entertaining, but every so often they have a deeper meaning (like the one last chapter).

The title from this chapter is the name of an Evanescence song off of the CD Origin. This chapter rather made me think of the chorus, what with Harry's monologuing: "I've woken now to find myself in the shadows of all I have created. I'm longing to be lost in you (take me away from this place I've made). Won't you take me away from me?" Yeah.

So I'm thinking of eventually (not right now, I'm swamped :P) writing a companion to this fic called "Averto Fatum" or "Averto Fortuna", which would translate to "Turn Back Destiny" or "Avert Destiny". It would be a prequel of sorts to "Averto Vicis", explaining what happened after HBP the first time around. What do you all think? Bad idea, or good?

I'll go back and revise this for mistakes later; right now, I think I should get it posted before I wake up dead. Or rather, not wake up dead, as it were… Huh.

--Aerin


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Hallow's Eve

**Chapter Thirteen: Hallow's Eve**

_-- "This isn't a criticism, Harry! But you do ... sort of ... I mean -- don't you think you've got a bit of a -- a -- saving people thing?" Hermione, OotP_

Halloween came far too quickly in Harry's opinion. Hermione hadn't yet had another vision, and Draco was starting to relax and truly fit in with the group. Harry had been on the lookout for any odd behavior from Quirrel, but since the match there had been nothing. He'd also been watching the Prophet, and there'd still been no attempts to steal the Stone. That could mean only one thing: it was at Hogwarts already, and his earlier theory was probably correct.

The fact that he'd heard nothing of the troll wasn't comforting at all; it didn't mean that Quirrel wouldn't use it, just that he was good at hiding what he was up to. Seeing as Harry had no clue how he'd managed to get the troll in the first time, he had no idea if it was already here or not.

The only thing he could do, he reflected, was to make sure he was with Hermione at all times on Halloween. He was not going to risk losing her, not now.

October 31st dawned like every other day. The sun rose in the east, the moon sunk below the horizon, the bell rang for breakfast, and classes began. Only Harry knew what was different, other than the festive decorations. No one else knew that a student might die tonight.

The day passed quickly. Harry made sure that Hermione was in his sight at all times, and nothing odd had happened yet. But when they reached the Great Hall for the feast and Harry saw that Quirrel wasn't there, he felt his stomach drop. _Oh, no. _

Sure enough, right in the middle of Dumbledore's speech Quirrel came rushing in. But then everything changed. "Lethifolds! Lethifolds, in the dungeon!" There was silence. "Just thought you ought to know." Quirrel collapsed, and the Great Hall dissolved into chaos.

Harry swore under his breath and made his way out of the Great Hall with the orther students, just thankful that Hermione was with him. This time, he would let the professors take care of it.

That idea was cut short as Hermione grabbed his arm and stopped him. "Hermione, come on, they're sending everyone back to the Common Room—"

She cut him off, her eyes wide. "But Harry, Mandy's in the dungeons! She forgot her bag after Potions, and she was going back to get it!"

Harry stared. "Shit," he said calmly. He shook his head. "Alright, I'll go, you—"

"I'm coming with you," Hermione said, interrupting him again. Her tone brooked no argument.

"Hermione, Lethifolds are dangerous. The only way to get rid of them is the—"

"Patronus Charm, I know. I have read 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', Harry. Besides, I think casting a Patronus would be decidedly easier when there aren't Dementors to remind you of unhappy memories, don't you?"

Harry sighed. There was no way to convince her not to do something when she argued like that. Truthfully, he thought it was a great trait—except when she could get herself killed. "Alright. We'll go together, but if anything happens I want you to run, alright?"

She raised an eyebrow. "If anything happens, we grab Mandy, Levitate her if necessary, and we _all _run."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Alright, let's go." It was a testament to the panic filling the school that no one noticed them leave.

They snuck down to the dungeons in silence. Harry felt a cold spot in his stomach growing bigger and bigger as they drew closer to the door to the dungeons. He gestured to Hermione to come closer and gestured to the door, making an opening motion with his hands. She nodded. He held out one finger, then two, then three, and they shoved the door open.

Harry's eyes widened at the sight before them. The dungeon corridors were swarming with Lethifolds. Wedged into a corner, Harry could just make out the shape of Mandy, batting at several Lethifolds and trying to keep them away from her. "Hermione, there!" Herry called, pointing as he drew his wand. He concentrated on the feeling of being told he could go back to save Sirius and Hermione. "Expecto Patronum!"

A bright white Grim burst out of his wand and began to chase down Lethifolds. "Hermione, come on!" he called.

"Expecto Patronum," she said clearly, confidently. A silvery wolf slithered out of her wand. Harry barely had time to think about the change in shape of her Patronus (maybe it was for the same reason his had changed?) before the battle was on.

Guiding their Patroni, they somehow managed to herd the Lethifolds into a corner. Carefully keeping her wand, and therefore her Patronus, trained on the creatures, Hermione edged her way over to Mandy. Keepin gan eye on the Lethifolds, she nudged the other Ravenclaw in the arm.

"Mandy?" There was a small whimper. "Mandy, Harry and I have them trapped in the corner." A louder whimper. "Mandy, for Merlin's sake snap out of it!"

The other girl lifted her head slowly. "Hermione?" The brunette nodded, and Mandy hugged her tightly. "Oh Merlin Hermione, I thought I was going to die…"

Hermione patted her on the back with her free hand. "It's alright now, Mandy, but c'mon—we've got to get out of here. Harry and I have them taken care of, but I don't know for how long." Sure enough, the Patroni were already having to move faster to keep the creatures disabled.

"Okay, Hermione, Mandy," Harry said calmly. Both of you stand up, slowly," They did. "No sudden movements, or they might act up. Let's back towards the door, slowly again, mind you, on my count. One, two, three."

As one, the three of them moved towards the door to the dungeons, Harry and Hermione keeping their Patroni in place. Mandy got to the door first, and grabbed the handle. Harry grabbed Hermione's arm and they paused. "Alright. Mandy, as soon as Hermione and I are through, I want you to shut the door. Hermione, you and I are going to hold the Patroni for as long as possible, alright?"

Hermione nodded, but Harry was worried. The wolf was flickering slightly, which meant she was having trouoble holding it. He didn't blame her; even with her magic reserves and how powerful she was, she'd never attempted the spell before, and it would surely be taking a lot out of her.

"Hermione, you ready?" She nodded again, determined. "Then let's go!"

Several things happened in quick succesion. They both leapt backwards at the same time, and Mandy moved to shut the door as quickly as she could. Both of their Patroni failed, vanishing into silvery-white sparks, and the Lethifolds made a break for the door, but only managed to ram into it as Mandy finished shutting it and dropped the wooden bar.

"What on earth is going on!" came a screeching Scottish voice. The three of them winced and turned to see Professors McGonagall, Quirrel, and Snape standing behind them.

"Er…" Harry said slowly. Fortunately, Mandy began to speak.

"I-I came down here before the feast because I'd left my bag, but there were all of these _creatures_… I didn't know what to do, so I got in a corner and I was fighting them off as best as I could when Harry and Hermione came in. They saved my life, Professor McGonagall."

"Is this true, Black? Granger?" They nodded.

"Mandy told me she was going to get her bag, ma'am, so I got Harry to come with me to find her. We managed to grab her and pull her out without getting hurt."

"A spot of blind luck, Miss Granger," Snape said silkily. "Ten points from Ravenclaw each." He swept off, and Harry noticed he was limping. Good; Harry didn't think he had the energy to deal with Quirrel trying to steal the Stone right now. His stores were still recovering, and the prolonged Patronus had taken rather a lot out of him as well.

McGonagall sighed. "Go back to your Common Room," she said quietly. The three of them turned and began to walk down the hallway. "Oh, Black and Granger?" They turned. "Ten points to Ravenclaw each. It's nice to see some of my House's traits in other students." Without another word she turned and made her way towards the Headmaster's office, and Harry, Mandy, and Hermione moved towards the Ravenclaw Common Room.

Halloween was over, and Hermione was fine. Harry allowed himself a sigh of relief.

-----

At 11:47 PM, All Hallow's Eve, Rowena Alyssa Delaney-Black was born to Sirius Black and Josephine Delaney-Black at the Maternity Ward of St. Mungos. She had a curly mass of black hair on her head and ice-blue eyes, both of which belonged to her father.

"It's fitting, isn't it?" Sirius whispered, watching his daughter sleep in her mother's arms. "That one of the best things to happen to us happens on the anniversary of one of the worst."

Josie smiled tiredly and grasped his hand. "It is. James and Lily would be glad, for a way to look past it all."

Sirius smiled back and stroked her hair out of her face. "You're gorgeous," he whispered. "Effulgent." She blushed, and there was comfortable silence for another few minutes before a nurse entered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Black?" the woman asked. "There's a Remus Lupin, an Amelia Bones, and a Nymohadora Tonks here to see you. May I let them in?"

Sirius looked to his wife, who nodded. "Sure, but tell them to please be quiet. The baby's asleep." The nurse nodded and left, and a few moments later Tonks, Remus, and Amelia came in.

Josie smiled at them. "Meet Rowena Alyssa Delaney-Black," she said quietly. "Remus, we're unfortunately not legally able to make you Godfather, but you are in every way but paper, alright?"

Remus' eyes widened and he nodded. "I'm honored." Sirius could understand; he'd been shocked when Lily and James had asked him as well. Being a godparent was huge in the Wizarding World; a godparent had nearly as many rights to the child as the parent did, so they were carefully picked.

"Amelia and dear Nymphadora," he said. His niece-of-sorts scowled at him. "It's been a tough contest for who will be Godmother, but eventually we decided on Amelia, because since you and Remus are together, it would be more likely that custody wouldn't have to go to just one of you. Tonks, we are naming yoou next in line if anythign happens to all of us."

Remus wrapped his arm around Amelia, and Tonks made a step forward. "Thanks," she said quietly. "She's beautiful. Are Harry and Hermione going to come up to see her?"

Josie nodded. "We've written Dumbledore, asking for them, and Draco if he wants to come, to be let out of school on the third." Tonks nodded, and the next hour was spent in quiet conversation before Tonks, Remus, and Amelia left to go stay at the house and Sirius fell asleep in the armchair next to the bed.

-----

On November 1st, a tawny owl flew down to where the group was sitting at breakfast. "Who's it for?" Fred asked.

Harry looked at the letter. "Me, Hermione, and Draco," he said, a sense of unease growing in his stomach. There was only one thing that could connect the three of them through a letter in the Headmaster's writing, and that was Sirius, Josie, and the gang.

He and Hermione shared an uncertain look and Draco frowned. _Please let them all be alright, _he thought quickly before opening the envelope. He read through it twice in quick succession, and a wide smile broke out on his face.

"Mr. Black, Mr. Malfoy, and Miss Granger," he read aloud. "On November 3rd you are permitted to miss classes and Floo to visit Mr. Sirius Black, Mrs. Josephine Delaney-Black, and newborn Rowena Alyssa Delaney-Black. If you are interested, report to the Headmaster's Office at 9 o'clock AM on the 3rd."

He looked up to Hermione and Draco, beaming. "I have a little sister." Nothing could ruin that moment, and he felt as though he could hold off every Dementor there was.

-----

Draco awoke at six thirty on the 3rd and sat in the Gryffindor Common Room for about an hour, just thinking.

He wondered if it was Sirius and Josephine's idea to invite him, or if the Headmaster had insisted upon it. Somehow, he thought the first, which made him feel unusually happy. He had been confused, at first, that Hermione was going too, but then he remembered Harry mentioning when he'd introduced them for real that Hermione lived across the street from them and practically lived at the house; she even had a room of her own there.

Thinking of Hermione made him think of the other morning at breakfast. He had been horrified when she'd collapsed, and he and Harry were permitted to go with her to the Hospital Wing… now that he thought about it, it was probably because of the fact thaat they would all be living in the same house over the winter and summer breaks (winter at the least for Hermione, as her parents would apparently be on a business trip).

He'd never seen the house before. He wondered what it would be like. It had to be large, because Harry had said they had more than enough bedrooms for all of them, even with the newborn. Would it be cold and impersonal, like Malfoy Manor had been, or would it be something else entirely?

He looked up at the clock and was startled to find that it was already seven thirty; he had half an hour to get breakfast and get to the Headmaster's office. Picking up the cloak he had thrown haphazardly ont eh chair next to him, he made his way down to the Great Hall. It would appear that Harry and Hermione had already gone and went, because they weren't there when he arrived. He quickly ate a bit of eggs and toast and hurried out of the Great Hall towards Dumbledore's office (insturctions and the password, Cockroach Clusters, had been included in the note).

In the hallway outside of the office, he caught Hermione and Harry about to go in. They turned at the sound of his footsteps, and both smiled when they saw it was him. He marveled for a moment; just a month before, they would have ignored his presence. "Hello, Draco, " Harry said. "We were about to go up to the office. You coming?"

Draco gave a hesitant smile and nodded. "If you don't mind."

Hermione looked surprised. "Why would we mind? Cockroach Clusters." The last two words were directed to a gargoyle, which jumped aside to reveal a moving staircase.The three made their way up and knocked on the office door.

"Come in!" came a jolly voice. Harry snorted, but opened the door. They filed in to see Dumbledore sitting behind his desk, smiling benignly. "Ah, Mr. Black, Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger. The fireplace is there. I presume you all know how to use Floo Powder?" Draco nodded, as did Harry and Hermione. "Right then. For Mr. Malfoy, the adress is 'Fuzzy Wuzzy's Place'."

Draco made a slight choking sound and turned to look at Harry and Hermione, who were both giggling. Harry explained, "Sirius' Great-Uncle Alphard, who used to own the house, had a really, really weird sense of humour. By the way, unless you like the scent of burnt turkey, I'd suggest not using the bathroom in the basement."

He raised an eyebrow, and Hermione snickered before throwing some powder on the fire, stepping into the fireplace, and calling out "Fuzzy Wuzzy's Place!"

-----

Hermione tumbled out of the fireplace and managed to bump into Remus. "Oof," she said. He laughed and helped her to her feet, bringing her into a hug.

"Good to see you, Hermione."

She smiled at him and was about to say it was good to see him, too, when Harry flew out of the fireplace and landed on his rear end. "I hate Flooing," he muttered. Hermione laughed and offered him her hand, which he took and stood. "Moony, Amelia! Hello! Where are Dad and Mum?"

Harry had taken to calling Sirius and Josie that about a year after they adopted him. They had made it clear that while they were in no way trying to replace Lily and James, they loved him like a son—and on his side of things, they were the only parents he had ever known, and he loved them as such.

Remus was cut off from answering when Draco stepped through the fireplace perfectly neatly. Harry and Hermione both scowled at him. "I don't see how you can do that so gracefully," Harry muttered, and Draco gave him a hesitant smile, which he returned.

"Sirius and Josie are upstairs," Amelia informed them. "Tonks is with them, and so is Rowena. They're in the Master Bedroom."

Harry grinned. "C'mon!" He took off up the stairs, followed closely by Hermione. Draco went after them, trying to concentrate on keeping up with them and not be distracted by the house. It truly was amazing, better than he could ever have imagined. There were shelves on the walls filled with books and random knicknacks, several of which lay in dusty broken pieces.

It was the exact opposite of Malfoy Manor, and it was brilliant.

They reached the top of the staircase and Harry and Hermione turned right, knocking on the second door on the left. "Come in," a voice called, and Harry opened the door. The sight inside gave Draco a funny tingling feeling in his chest, and with some surprise he recognized it as elation.

Josephine was sitting up in the bed. Tonks was sitting on the end of it, smiling at the three of them. Sirius was in the chair next to the bed, cradling a baby in his arms. When the door opened, Sirius stood up, ahuge grin on his face. "This, Harry, Hermione, and Draco, is Rowena Black.'

And if anyone else had walked into the room then, they would have been able to physically feel the joy and love emanating from it.

**AN: **Okay, a couple of quick things:

I had someone question me on Mabriel's name; all will be revealed in later chapters, I swear. Really. Yes, her house is French, and yes, there's a reason for that. Also, no, we haven't heard her prophecy yet, though it has been mentioned before, if you look back.

I was asked what, in a previous chapter, HVSC stood for—it's an abbreviation for my completed long fic, "Hero, Villain, Saviour, Conqueror". SRFW stands for the sequel, "Subject, Ruler, Finder, Wanderer" (which I really, really need to update. Heh. Hehe. Oops?)

Several plotline questions that I want to hear review response on but have almost definite ideas for anyway:

--Should I include Mark Evans? (I know JK said he wasn't anyone important, yes.)

--When should Remus propose to Amelia?

--Should I have Charlie and Tonks meet again when the Order starts, or should something bring them back together sooner?

--When should Snape and Herry develop a tentative and unwanted (on Snape's side, at least) friendship?

So, tell me what you think! Oh, and:

--What house should Ginny be in? (Luna's staying a Ravenclaw.)

Once again, I'll have to go back and edit this later; I barely had the time to finish it.

--Aerin


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